Pediatrician helps young children become better readers

G. Lawrence “Lar” McNally, 66, loves kids. As a pediatrician for more than 30 years in Buffalo, New York, he was known for his dedication to his patients and handled hundreds of complex

cases. But Lar’s medical career ended suddenly when chronic back problems and complications from surgery made it hard for him to walk, forcing him to retire early. After so many years

devoted to helping the most vulnerable children, he felt he’d lost his sense of purpose. Lar’s wife, Kathy — “my rock,” he calls her — saw that he was struggling and urged him to try

volunteering opportunities. “She said, ‘You better find something to do. You're not laying around the house feeling all mopey and stuff!’” A friend recommended AARP Foundation

Experience Corps, a community-based volunteer program that pairs people over 50 with young students to help them become better readers by the end of third grade. Even though he’d never been

a reading tutor before, Lar was excited about the chance to work with children again. “As a pediatrician, you’re teaching kids about their own health. I really missed that interaction with

kids.” TUTORING WITH ENTHUSIASM, CREATIVITY AND JOY Any doubts he had about his ability to be an effective tutor disappeared once he met the local staff with Experience Corps program partner

Read to Succeed Buffalo and took the extensive training, which leans heavily on repetition and mock sessions. “I was worried. ‘How can I do this?’” he says. “But the training program was

really good. I can't say enough about how organized it is.” With his training finished, Lar was matched with three students: two first graders and one second grader. He brought

enthusiasm and creativity to his tutoring sessions, using different voices to make lessons fun while reinforcing essential reading skills. By winter break, all three of his students were

reading at their grade level. One of Lar’s proudest moments came when the second grader improved enough to move into a more challenging reading group. Helping children succeed is satisfying

on its own, but Lar also finds joy in the relationships he forms with them. In his first year with the program, he was touched when a teacher asked to take his picture because his

second-grade student had identified him as his “trustworthy person” for a class project. VOLUNTEERING MAKES A DIFFERENCE IN MORE WAYS THAN ONE His second year with Experience Corps will be

at a different school, one where he doesn’t have to walk as much between classes and can spend more time with the students. No matter where he tutors, though, Lar looks forward to it. “I’m

so glad I found a volunteer activity that is making a difference for these kids,” he says. “But it’s also providing me with something I was missing. I can't kick a soccer ball around

anymore, but it's incredibly rewarding when the children want to sit with me and read." LEARN MORE ABOUT AARP FOUNDATION EXPERIENCE CORPS AND HOW TO BECOME A VOLUNTEER. _Read more

stories__ about how our programs have helped people find hope, and about the volunteers who give so much of themselves to help others._