PORTLAND, Maine — The tender loving care some children receive from grandparents growing up is a feeling they never forget. That feeling is exactly what one woman has been giving Maine children for many years through the AmeriCorps Senior Foster Grandparent Program in grade schools.
At 81, Fran Seeley has reflected back on her life. For decades, she was a teacher in California before moving to Maine more than two decades ago.
It wasn't long after that she decided to return to the classroom, this time as a volunteer. She volunteers her time at Gerald E. Talbot Community School in Portland, where the kindergarteners call her Grammie Fran.
"Kindergarten is my favorite, you get to see little light bulbs going off in their heads," Seeley explained.
This is a full-time "job" for Grammie Fran, who volunteers Monday through Friday and is there from the moment the children walk in the door to the moment they get picked up. She has no intention of quitting anytime soon.
"I was given a questionnaire to fill out and one of the questions was, "What might stop you from volunteering?" I put 'death,'" Seeley said.
She's been with Nancy Burkes' class for the last seven years.
"It's like having another teacher in the classroom. She tells me she gets as much out of it as we get from having her here, but I don't know about that," Burke said. "It's very valuable to have her in the classroom every day."
Every day she's touching the lives of children, some of them in need of a grandmother figure in their life.
"We were walking out yesterday and one little one goes, "Grammie Fran, I love you." And it's so sweet, you know, and I said, "I love you too,'" Seeley said.
If you would like to become a volunteer with the AmeriCorps Senior Foster Grandparent Program, click here for more information.