Roles of a lifetime

Torus Tammer

Marcia and Philip Ryder are a one-of-a-kind pair who volunteer at the

Braille Institute in Santa Ana. The Institute and its students emit great

pride that this mother and son from Fountain Valley give a lot of their

time to the many there who need it there.

As a high school sophomore, Philip Ryder was required to complete 80

hours of community service work before he could graduate. He could never

have imagined that about two years later, he would have not only amassed

in excess of 800 hours of volunteer work, but that he would also play a

role in recruiting the person responsible for exposing the opportunity in

the first place . . . his mother Marcia.

“I had been volunteering for two months in the pediatric ward of the

Fountain Valley Regional Hospital, but I felt that the work I was doing

was just secretarial. So I decided that I should find something else,”

Phillip said. “That was when my mom showed me a section of the newspaper

where the Braille Institute was looking for volunteers.”

Marcia Ryder, the family’s homemaker, said that she stumbled across

the Braille Institutes plea for volunteers and immediately brought it to

her son’s attention.

“They [Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana] required sophomores to

complete 40 of the 80 hours of community service on a person-to-person

basis, and Phillip didn’t feel he was doing that at the hospital,” she

said.

So Philip went in to interview with Mary Johnson, the Institute’s

volunteer services coordinator, who said that there were no prerequisites

for volunteering other than that the applicant needed to like people and

be willing to help them.

“The ratio is 14 volunteers for every one staff person, so we

literally could not do without volunteers,” Johnson said. “It’s so

important to have people give of their time.”

But what began as a mandatory task for Philip quickly turned into an

important and challenging role in his life, said Johnson.

“He was so enthusiastic about his volunteer work that he eventually

brought his mother in to volunteer as well, and she was just as

delightful and dedicated as he was.”

Marcia Ryder does in fact concur that her son’s enthusiasm was

infectious and although indeed an inspiration, it still was not the

impetus behind her committing to the Institute.

“I was inspired by the stories Phillip would tell after coming home

from the Institute,” Marcia Ryder said. “But what really got me to become

involved is when he came home one day and asked ‘how do you teach

5-year-old kids how to tie their shoes when they can’t even see their

shoes.’ That really gives you something to think about and for me, it was

the catalyst.”

For the past 24 and 18 months respectively, Philip and his mother

have given their time, compassion and dedication to the blind and the

visually impaired. Both go to the Santa Ana center on Tuesdays -- Philip

in the afternoon where he helps those between 6 and 18 organize and

participate in activities as well as teaching them independent living

skills.

“At orientation, the institute tried to show us what it would be like

being blind by putting a blindfold on us to show how much the kids rely

[on] and have to trust us,” Philip said. “Then they showed us the every

day skills that visually challenged people need that we take for granted.

I found out that they especially loved the talking watches because they

are unable to read time.”Marcia Ryder participates in the ballroom

dancing group for seniors on Tuesday mornings, and then teaches an

English as Second Language class the same day.

Marcia said that because there was a shortage of females in the

ballroom dancing class, she volunteered as a partner in a class that

boasts a 70-year-old as its youngest participant.

“They are way better then I am,” Marcia Ryder said. “The amazing thing

about that is I can see the instructor and the other students can’t and

they are still better at it. I tend to be a worrier but when I come and

experience these wonderful things, it gives me courage to say ‘don’t be

afraid, go for it.”’

Johnson agrees that Marcia is very flexible and willing to explore and

even take on any volunteer duties.

“She is very appealing to students because they can feel her warmth,”

Johnson said.

Philip, who will be leaving for college in August, said that he has

not only grown as an individual from these experiences, he’s made a lot

of friends.

“One time, we went tandem bike riding as part of the summer program,

and I was on my tandem with this one girl Vanessa who was about 9 or 10,”

Phillip said. “As we rode, I kept asking her if I should go faster. All I

remember is that she was totally excited and had a huge smile on her

face. No matter how fast I went and no matter how often I asked her, she

kept saying go as fast as you can. I could tell she was having the time

of her life.”