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Good
rap for troubled kids By Kelly Fenley ©2005 Eugene Reister-Guard Used by permission
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January 30, 2005 Some of these kids, namely those locked up for the most dreadful crimes, only someone like a grandmother could love. So what does mighty-mite Helen Riddell do but “love them like grandkids.” She does it as a volunteer
with Encore Theatre, a traveling troupe of everyday seniors willing
to ham up their own humanity for building rapport with youngsters.
Troupe volunteers are quick to say they’re not actors, and
often are quite different from one another in their values and
ideologies. Yet, together they can leave even broken hearts smiling
again. Along with gigs at many schools, Encore seniors also visit juvenile
detention centers across Oregon, including the John Serbu Youth
Campus in Eugene. Riddell (pronounced ri-dale) enjoys visits
to the juvenile centers most of all. “We don’t judge; we just love them,” says the
retired school teacher, mother of four and grandmother of four. “They
want to call me grandma. They want to, and they do. And they want
us to write them letters.” Which she does. The compassion and humor
Riddell brings the teens and young adults makes it easy to see
why she’s been honored as the first
volunteer of the month by Community Leaders Together, a new effort
by the Register-Guard, United Way of Lane County and eight local
businesses to promote volunteerism and corporate citizenship. Encore Theatre volunteers
regale younger people with original song and dance numbers written
by fellow performer Lydia Lord. A sure crowd pleaser is “Stereotype Rap,” which Riddell
starts off by rapping, “A stereotype is a way to feel if
you won’t take the time to learn what’s real.” She and other troupe members indeed get real for their audience.
With theatrical prompts from Encore director and founder Eliza
Roaring Springs, Riddell shares that her brother died of alcohol
abuse, that her mother hocked her wedding ring to feed her family
during the Depression, and that if Riddell could be any mode
of transportation it would be a roller-coaster. Raised in Portland, she
attends her high school reunion there every year. “And I see my boyfriend,” she confides
during the show. “It’s amazing what an old man he
is.” Laughter helps the kids put their guard down and empathize
with a generation that suddenly doesn’t seem so much different
than their own. Workshops after the show allow troupe members
to bond one-on-one with kids. |
“She’s
a favorite ‘grandma’ to a lot of the boys who are locked
up,” says director Roaring Springs, who nominated Riddell for
the volunteer of the month award. “That grandmotherly acceptance,
not judging but just loving them – most of these kids have
never received that. I think one reason the program is so effective
for kids is that they are so starved for adult interaction and
caring. They feel like throwaways.” At 81, twice-widowed
Riddell is the eldest of the 30-member senior troupe and one of
its driving forces. She doesn’t get a dime for her time with Encore,
and truth be known she’s shy at heart. “I was never a performer, but I always wanted to be,” she allows. “I
think we all have a little hambone in us.” Fellow Encore members
call Riddell their hummingbird, mostly for her nonstop volunteer
work behind the scenes but also because of her petite size. “I’m
just short on one end,” she quips when asked about her height, which
peaked at 4-feet, 10 and three-quarter inches before ebbing a skosh in
recent years. She can laugh about it,
but one reason Riddell founded a preschool at her St. Mark’s Catholic Church in Eugene back in the early ‘70s
was to finally teach children shorter than herself. Earlier she had taught
at Clear Lake Elementary School in Eugene, where even some of those grade
schoolers stood a hair taller. “It’s true,” she allows. “But
you know, I never feel short. And I think tall.” No arguments there. “Helen gives hundreds and millions and thousands of hours, constantly,” effuses
Roaring Spring. Whenever someone gives
money to the troupe – and it survives solely on
private and community grants and donations – Riddell responds with a personal
phone call of thanks. That’s added up to thousands of calls since Riddell,
one of the troupe’s eight original members, joined Encore when it was founded
in 1997. What’s more, Riddell also volunteers at St. Mark’s Catholic
Church and the Audubon Society, and in the ‘90s served as
an ombudsman at a local nursing home. Her Encore work hasn’t been good medicine just for kids. On this mild winter
day, Riddell has been a little under the weather with a cold and flare-up of
asthma. But she wasn’t about to miss a special lunchtime
performance for the Eugene Kiwanis Club, and felt re-energized
after the show. “You’re not just concentrating on yourself like you do when you’re just sitting at home,” she explains. “The seniors I know today, they all volunteer if they possibly can. We want to feel like we’re worth something being here. I don’t want a free ride.” |
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