Photo: Linda Snow Dockser is honored by Killam Elementary School in Reading after creating its character education program in 2007. From left is Dr. John Doherty, now the superintendent; Dockser; her daughter Jennie; Superintendent Patrick Schettini Jr., the late superintendent; her late mother, Barbara Snow; and her father, Edward Snow

Donating their knowledge

Volunteers put their professional skills to work

By Susie Davidson

Special to the Advocate

You’d like to help out, but you don’t know how. You can’t bang a nail in straight,

let alone help build a house. You can barely get off the couch, never mind run a

10K. And although visiting the sick and the elderly and serving meals are worthy

and wonderfully rewarding, not all of us have the time, or are rooted in one place

enough to make a regular commitment.

In fact, nearly every kind of skill, no matter how esoteric, can be turned into a

helpful venture.

Laura Bardfield was always interested in bodywork and healing. A certified

acupressure therapist, the Watertown resident recently started volunteering for

the Medical Reserve Corps. To qualify, she also took a psychology course and

underwent an extensive background check.

Bardfield has always been drawn to human-centered giving. She has worked in

elder care for more than 30 years, which she found particularly gratifying because

her mainly Jewish clients appreciated her Jewish background.

“I still wanted to do volunteer work, but broaden into the general public, not just

the aged, or sick and infirm, although I still do that,” she said. “I wanted to be

part of a dynamic effort and felt that my skills could be helpful during a time of

heightened emergency.”

Thus far, the most serious situation she faced was last May’s water emergency

following the Weston main break. Bardfield helped distribute water in Hull, paying

special attention to the elderly.

Harris Gleckman has made it his mission to preserve the history of Maine’s Jews

and keeping those who moved away – “the diaspora,” as he calls them – linked

together.

“Some see the benefit of preserving community and family memories as a part of

passing along contemporary Jewish history, while others enjoy the challenge of finding

new information for a research puzzle,” said Gleckman, who is project coordinator

for Documenting Maine Jewry. “I personally enjoy helping to re-create ties

between families and friends.”

Gleckman says that over the last six years, volunteers have interviewed 45 older

members of the Greater Portland Jewish community. The interviews are posted

on his organization’s Web site, www.mainejews.org, along with historic photos,

documents, family histories, cemetery records and examples of Maine humor and

Yiddishisms.

Rick Reibstein, an attorney for the state and lecturer on environmental law at

Boston University, volunteers as co-chair of the environment committee of the

Jewish Alliance for Law & Social Action (JALSA).

“My story of volunteering in general goes very far back, inherited from my mother,

who was very active in the League of Women Voters in Great Neck, Long Island,

where I grew up,” Reibstein said.

Since he was a young adult, he has worked on environmental efforts. “I was forced

to do it quite often on a volunteer basis, for the lack of paying work,” the Brooklyn

Law School grad said. Such was the case when he arrived in Boston in 1984, when

the only environmental law work he could get was pro-bono help to widows suing

the Veterans Administration because their husbands had been exposed to radiation

during atomic bomb tests. But while he wasn’t paid, the work did pay off. “It

confirmed for me that the path I had taken was a good one,” he said.

After meeting JALSA Director Sheila Decter, he decided to attend some of the

group’s meetings. “I said to myself, here they are, here are the people who retain

the free-thinking, liberal, open, compassionate politics that I remember,” Reibstein

said. “I have a young man in college and another looking at colleges, and I would

be insane to devote this time to JALSA if it weren’t what it is.”

As a child, Linda Snow Dockser watched her parents enjoy volunteering for

Temple Emanu-el in Marblehead, My Brother’s Table in Lynn and the Soviet

refusnik program. “I followed suit, helping out at brotherhood breakfasts, serving

on the board of SMARTY, the synagogue youth group, and enjoying time with

a little sister through the Big Brother Organization,” said Dockser, who lives in

Reading.

Dockser, who holds a doctorate in education, has diverse experience, including

working with children in a mental health unit, evaluating museum educational

programs and conducting research on literacy in Morocco.

Now a mother of three, she volunteers with the Reading Public Schools.

“I have been fortunate to be able to choose to be a ‘stay at home’ mom while my

children are growing and my husband travels,” she said. “I am ‘Dr. Mom.’”

In her children’s classrooms, she “would help the teacher, support students, read

stories and share our Jewish Holidays, often, with my baby on my back.”

At her elementary school’s request, she developed and led a character education

program. She spent seven years working collaboratively with staff, administrators,

parents, children and the community. “It was a lot of work, but the benefits were

glorious,” she recalled. “I made friends and gained confidence, credibility, smiles

and hugs,” Dockser said. “None of my pay ever came in monetary denominations;

however, my compensation was, nonetheless, priceless.”

Dockser has also served on various school councils; coached sports; and organized

speaker series. Putting her experience with challenged children to use, she

volunteered for her school district’s Understanding Disabilities Program.

Two years ago, Dockser accompanied Reading’s assistant superintendent when he

defended his doctoral dissertation. “He began to introduce me to his faculty, but

paused as he considered: ‘Who really is she?’”

The answer: “I was Linda Snow Dockser, the volunteer. I had no other current job

titles, but the label he used is one I wear with great pride.”

Putting skills to good use

BY SUSIE DAVIDSON

Special to the Advocate

You’d like to help out, but you don’t know how. You can’t bang a nail in straight, let alone help build a house. You can barely get off the couch, never mind run a 10K. And although visiting the sick and the elderly and serving meals are worthy and wonderfully rewarding, not all of us have the time, or are rooted in one place enough, to make a regular commitment. Philanthropy? Huh?

But everyone has something to contribute. In fact, nearly every kind of skill, no matter how esoteric, can be turned into a helpful venture. Laura Bardfield was always interested in bodywork and healing, “Since I am a nationally certified acupressure therapist by the National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine, I recently signed up for and was accepted to be a Medical Reserve Corps volunteer,” she said from her home in Watertown. The NCCAOM certification, which is for nation-wide or state-based service, requires continuing education courses and 60 hours of classes every four years. She also took a training course on psychology in Brookline Emergency Management, and underwent an extensive background check. Now, if there is any emergency, she is called into action. While all of this could be daunting to some, she felt it would be important training and service.

Bardfield has always been drawn to human-centered giving, on an intensive level. She recently completed a certification in reflexology, which required 200 hours of on-site training and courses in anatomy, physiology and pathology. She has also been a member of the American Organization for Bodywork Therapies of America (AOBTA) since 2005, and has worked in elder care for over 30 years, which was very gratifying for her, as her mainly Jewish clients truly appreciated her Judaic background. “For two years in the early 1990s, I also worked as a social worker at Boston City Hall with the Commission for the Affairs for the Elderly,” she said. And, she performed volunteer hospice work for Partners Hospice for five years.

“I still wanted to do volunteer work, but broaden into the general public, not just the aged, or sick and infirm, although I still do that,” she said. “Although I hope that such a potentially dangerous situation never occurs, I wanted to be part of a dynamic effort and felt that my skills could be helpful during a time of heightened emergency to those who might be ailing or incapacitated to some extent during an emergency.” She felt that she was further suited to the task because she has always responded well in times of pressure.

Thus far, the most serious situation occurred during the boil-water order during last May’s water main break in Weston. “We were asked to help disburse water in Hull, and I checked in with and brought water to the elderly,” Bardfield said.

As a child, Linda Snow Dockser watched her mother and father enjoy volunteering at Temple Emanu-el in Marblehead, at My Brother’s Table in Lynn, and with the Soviet Refusnik Program. “I followed suit, helping out at brotherhood breakfasts, serving on the board of SMARTY, the synagogue youth group, and enjoying time with a little sister through the Big Brother Organization,” she said from her home in Reading. In high school and college she continued this altruistic bent, volunteering with the special needs population, working with the Soviet rescue committee, and serving as a peer leader.

There is a lot more to Dockser, a mother of three who volunteers with the Reading Public Schools. She earned a Ph.D. in Education from the University of Pennsylvania in 1989; in 1976, she graduated Magna Cum Laude with Phi Beta Kappa from Tufts University. Following college, she worked at an inpatient mental health unit with at-risk children; and also evaluated educational programs and museum environments. “I conducted research on literacy in Morocco, speaking only French, and trained in a British Infant School at a time when they were held to be the cutting edge of early education,” she said.

But after several years of juggling consulting, a travelling engineer husband, and her two sons, Dockser shifted her focus to helping the schools in which her sons and eventually her daughter were enrolled. “Since then, I have been fortunate to be able to choose to be a ‘stay at home’ mom while my children are growing and my husband travels,” she said. “I am ‘Dr. Mom’.”

She began spending regular times in the classrooms of each of her children. “I would help the teacher, support students, read stories, and share our Jewish Holidays, often, with my baby on my back,” she said. Then she was asked to create and lead the elementary school’s character education program. “For seven years, I had a wonderful time designing and implementing a pro-active, school-wide collaborative program,” she explained. That was seven years of meeting people, working collaboratively with staff, administration, parents, children, and the community. “It was a lot of work, but the benefits were glorious,” she recalled. “I made friends and gained confidence, credibility, smiles and hugs.” Most importantly, Dockser was able to work with others to make a substantial difference in the culture of her children’s school and district. “None of my pay ever came in monetary denominations,” she said. “However, my compensation was, none-the-less, priceless!”

Last but by no means least, Dockser served on elementary and middle school councils, coached soccer, Tee Ball and baseball, and organized community and school-wide speakers who have included Ruby Bridges, Nancy Kerrigan, Michael Fowlin, and on repeated occasions, Holocaust survivor Edgar Krasa. “Other speakers have been community leaders and role models, from the Town Manager and leading local philanthropist, to the directors of the local food pantry, Veterans Organization, and School Committee,” she said. “I have given presentations on Israel at school-wide International Festivals, and been a part of our district’s Understanding Disabilities Program, which visits classrooms, engaging students in learning both obvious and hidden challenges that many people face.” Dockser has lobbied for the METCO program, met with legislators, worked at elections, written successful grant applications and fundraised for school programs. She published articles in newspapers on the elementary school character program, which actually led to her first paying job. “I was asked to take over a column called ‘School Notes’ in the local daily newspaper, covering all the schools in town,” she said, noting that she also got a job writing for another journal through a recent organization of a speaker event.

As if all this was not enough, Dockser has helped with Reading High School’s “Theater for Social Change” Program. “It educates students, families, and the community about tough societal issues which may include prejudice, homophobia, anti-Semitism, or special needs,” said this professional volunteer.

Gleckman says that over the last six years, volunteers have interviewed 45 older members of the Greater Portland Jewish community. The interviews are available on their Web site, as well as that of the Portland Public Library. Volunteer members also donated their family histories, family photos, and recollections. “The combined impact of each separate history is far greater than the sum of the individual parts,” said Gleckman, who says the group has brought people together in Newton, Old Orchard Beach, Westchester, and soon, Boynton Beach, Florida. “We share memories of Jewish life in Maine, have scanned over 100 articles/documents and 400 photographs on Maine Jewish life for the Web site, and have helped reconnect family members via the availability of cemetery records, Yarzheit announcements, and old photographs and documents,” he said. The group also enabled virtual visits to grave sites of family members, and has coordinated their effort with other Maine groups who maintain their own distinctive home pages of Jewish populations. 　

Gleckman said that some of those involved look at the reconnecting of family and friends as true mitzvahs. “Some see the benefit of preserving community and family memories as a part of passing along contemporary Jewish history, others enjoy the challenge of finding new information for a research puzzle, and some see building their own town or city Jewish history as a way to capture the way that the Jewish community played a key multicultural role in their own towns,” he said.

Rick Reibstein, who serves as co-chair of the Jewish Alliance for Law & Social Action’s environmental committee, is also an attorney on staff at the Massachusetts Office of Technical Assistance, and　a Lecturer on Environmental Law and Policy at Boston University. “My story of volunteering in general goes very far back, inherited from my mother, who was very active in the League of Women Voters in Great Neck, Long Island, where I grew up,” he said. Since early adulthood, Reibstein has devoted himself to environmental issues. “I was forced to do it quite often on a volunteer basis, for the lack of paying work,” the Brooklyn Law School grad joked.　But when he arrived in Boston in 1984, the only environmental law work he could get was pro-bono legal assistance to widows of veterans seeking compensation from the Veterans Administration for radiation injury from the atomic testing program. That experience changed his life. “It confirmed for me that the path I had taken was a good one, and that doing this volunteer work, and other work related to unrecognized harms and victims of the uncontrolled dispersion of radioactive elements in our environment, made me feel like I was doing something worthwhile with my time,” he said.

One day, he met JALSA Director Sheila Decter. “I went to some meetings and after a very short time I said to myself, ‘here they are!’ he recalled. “Here are the people who retain the free-thinking, liberal, open, compassionate politics that I remember, that used to be more widespread.　　Here are what others would call ‘the old leftists,’ but who really are just the ones who see that government is for, by, and of the people - just as that great Republican Lincoln said.” He asked, and was given the go to create the environmental committee. “If it wasn't so worthwhile, working with Sheila and everybody else involved in JALSA, I could not afford to do it,” he said.　“I have a young man in college　and another looking at colleges, and I would be insane to devote this time to JALSA if it weren't what it is - a marvelous creation, one　of the　completely sincere, honest, well-meaning, constructive, collaborative and creative organizations that I know of operating today.”

While our volunteers tend to be ebullient about what they do, Dockser says this is not to say that volunteering has come without its “price,” so to speak. “When situations changed and a need for income developed, it was very hard to shift perceptions,” she said. “Charging for my skills, when I am so used to giving them away, has been a challenge I have yet to surmount.” She said that societal attitudes have also been challenging. “Respect for the ‘stay-at-home’ mom is often elusive, the assumption being that we have all the time in the world to relax and do the work of others,” she says, adding that this can include changing light bulbs and fixing the temperature in classrooms. “Sometimes volunteer jobs would be more easily done by someone inside the system – if only there were funding,” she said.

Yet it remains a title proudly embraced by all who help out without pay.

Two years ago, Dockser traveled with Reading’s Assistant Superintendent to New Jersey for his defense of his doctoral dissertation. “Standing beside him as a member of his Dissertation Committee, he began to introduce me to his faculty, but paused as he considered: ‘Who really is she?’” The answer: “I was Linda Snow Dockser, the volunteer. I had no other current job titles, but the label he used is one I wear with great pride.”