In the News
April 10, 2014
Kim Robinson felt like she was taking so much from the community, so she decided to give back.
“I had recently separated from my husband and it wasn’t a great situation for any of us to be in, so I wanted to change our lives and make some positives out of such a negative experience,” she said.
Robinson, 43, just moved to Kingston two years ago when she enrolled in the law clerk program at St. Lawrence College. She was on her own with her three young children and needed to get an education so she could provide for them better financially, she said.
After Robinson moved from Kemptville, she didn’t have family or any connections in Kingston. While going to school full time, and after the separation, she felt her children needed some extra attention.
“(The separation) was completely unexpected for all four of us. We were reeling from it and I was looking for some way to help the kids through that, and that’s when I discovered Big Brothers Big Sisters,” she said.
Ever since her children have been paired with a volunteer from Big Brothers Big Sisters, Robinson has volunteered her time when she can.
“I need to give back. They have given me so much. Unless you’re in the situation, it’s very difficult to understand what your kids go through when they lose one of their parents – my kids don’t have access to their father anymore, vice-versa,” she said. “They gave us so much support and I watched the kids start to bond with and trust other adults outside our family, and I needed to show them how much I appreciated that.”
Robinson is one of the volunteers nominated for a Volunteers Grow Community award. Each year, the United Way Volunteer Centre recognizes six individuals based on outstanding work they do in the community. Melissa Sheldrick, match specialist at Big Brothers Big Sisters Kingston, nominated her.
“What we do for her, she really gives back to us,” Sheldrick said.
Every summer, Robinson hosts a barbecue to show her appreciation for the Big Brothers Big Sisters volunteers, Sheldrick said.
Even though Robinson got involved with Big Brothers Big Sisters when she was a full-time student and a full-time mother, she still found the time to participate in fundraisers and other events.
When people ask Robinson how she finds time to volunteer, she says the same thing every time: “I don’t know,” she said. “It’s important. It’s just as important as getting up and going to work every day or getting up and going to school and writing your exams – you make time for it.”
Big Brothers Big Sisters has really made a difference in the lives of Robinson’s children, she said.
“They are more confident, more self-assured, more focused. They look forward to the relationship that they have with their ‘Bigs’, which is really important because for the first little while after the separation, I was it. I was all they had.”
Robinson’s children, 14, 12 and 10, even accompany her on her volunteer endeavours, she said.
“I think it’s really important for the kids to understand when someone does something good for you, you give back, whether it’s to those people or to somebody else that needs help.”
Sheldrick said Robinson makes people feel at ease and her positive and calming attitude shines through in her children.
“If anyone had something they needed to get off their chest, they could definitely go to her.”
Although Robinson didn’t grow up in Kingston, she now feels welcome with the help of Big Brothers Big Sisters.
“It made us feel more a part of the community. It made us feel like we had a connection to Kingston and a home.”
Source: Alisa Howlett, Kingston This Week
Leave a Reply