May 2020 Volunteer of the Month Kymberlee Gilkey

Here’s the story, of a woman named Kymberlee, who loves volunteering with USO Stuttgart and acting silly in order to entertain kids. Kymberlee began volunteering with us in November of 2019. Since then she has donated 80 hours of her time to us. When our beloved staff member Kristin left, we needed someone to step up and take on Story & Craft Time. Kymberlee was happy to become the Lead Volunteer for this program. She immediately came up with creative ideas to engage the children of our community. Having been a special education teacher for many years, she thought of crafts and activities that would help develop various skills in the children that attend. She wanted Story & Craft Time to not only be a fun event, but preparation for preschool and kindergarten. With that in mind, she made small adjustments to the program and had great success in the few that she was able to lead before the center was forced to close due to COVID19.

During closure, Kymberlee remained an active participant in the virtual programs we offer our community. She put a lot of time and effort into figuring out how to offer Story & Craft Time virtually. It was important to her that the little ones in our community have something that was just for them. With so many of us on our computers doing work and school from home, she wanted preschoolers to feel a part of that too. It was important to her that it be engaging and fun. She certainly has achieved that! While connecting virtually, she has made coffee filter butterflies and shaving cream slime with the preschoolers of USAG Stuttgart. In the next Story & Craft Time, she will read “Hats Off for the Fourth of July” and help attendees make star spangled shakers. We are so grateful Kymberlee has decided to devote her time, talent, skill set and silliness to USO Stuttgart. It is an honor to award her as USO Stuttgart’s Volunteer of the Month for May 2020.