March Volunteer Spotlight: Clare Harmon

This month we spotlight Clare, a valued and appreciated volunteer.

What first brought you to 826 New Orleans?
Way back when 826 New Orleans was Big Class, a friend of mine from grad school was working on the Pizza & Poetry project and asked me to do a local poet (and pizza) interview. It was one of the first poet-things I’d ever done; I was a pretty new poet at that point and I remember feeling so fancy. That was in 2015 and I’ve been trying to find some time in my schedule to pay it forward ever since. This fall, I finally finagled a schedule where I was only working 6 days a week; I knew I wanted to give some of my extra time to 826.

What keeps you coming back?
So much! I’ve learned a lot from both the students and staff at 826 that I bring back to my day job at the Jazz & Heritage Foundation’s Heritage School of Music. More than that, though, I’ve found that volunteering at 826 has been so rewarding: supporting literacy; teaching students how to read and write–these things are, to me, revolutionary acts.

What are some skills you have that help you out at 826 New Orleans?
I draw on my skills as an educator, certainly. More specifically, my experience as a music educator has really informed my approach to helping 826 participants with their homework and writing activities. I always try to meet each student where they are–celebrating their strengths and encouraging them to meet challenges with open curiosity. I’ve seen this approach yield a lot of success, both in myself and in my violin and viola students.

What are you up to when you’re not volunteering with us?
Most of my time is spent at my day job(s): I’m the program administrator for the Heritage School of Music at the Jazz & Heritage Foundation. I’m fortunate to also also teach beginner theory/ensemble and strings as part of my work at the Foundation. Two days a week, I’m tutoring at the Writing Center at Delgado Community College. Outside of work, I mostly just spend time on my creative writing projects. My first book is set to be re-released in a second edition at the end of 2019/early 2020, so I’ll be spending a considerable amount of time this spring working with my editor to get the final final final version of the manuscript ready for publication

From the staff and the students of 826 New Orleans, we thank Clare for her generous support!