Volunteers for Walking School Bus Program Sought in Memory of Late EG Man

Family Service of Rhode Island’s Walking School Bus program is looking for “Super Volunteers” in memory of one of its first volunteers who lost his life in an automobile accident.

Ian Cameron, of East Greenwich, was one of the first Super Volunteers and he tragically died at the age of 24 in a car accident.

Cameron, who attended Rocky Hill School, started volunteering with the Walking School Bus program while he was home from college for winter break. Though it was cold, he “volunteered with an unparalleled level of enthusiasm, passion and dedication,” said Julie Casimiro, of Family Service of Rhode Island.

Now, the agency is announcing they have stipends for eight Super Volunteer positions and they’re naming the initiative in Cameron’s honor.

Super Volunteers” receive a stipend of $500 per school semester for volunteering at least four times a week and Casimiro said the organization is honored to name it after Cameron.

The Walking School Bus provides routes to and from school. The initiative ensures that each child living within a mile of the school, who needs to walk arrives on time and returns home safely, even when a family member is unable to walk with him or her. The Walking School Bus serves Bailey and Fogarty elementary schools in Providence’s South Side neighborhood.

“On Behalf of all of us who love Ian, we thank Family Service of Rhode Island for this opportunity to honor his memory,” said close friend Abby Kretsch, who helped created the Walking School Bus program when she worked at Family Service of Rhode Island. “He loved the Walking School Bus, so we are pleased that he will continue to be associated with it.”

Cameron was a student at Middlebury College in Vermont. He did summer research at Brown University.

Anyone interested in becoming an Ian Cameron Super Volunteer should call 401-331-1350 ext. 3457. Funding for the stipends is from the federal Safe Routes to School Program.

The Walking School Bus is reducing school tardiness and absenteeism. The program also promotes a positive community spirit as volunteers and school children walk through the neighborhoods surrounding the school.

The Walking School Bus is part of Family Service of Rhode Island’s “Providence Children’s Initiative,” providing a comprehensive, collaborative program to improve educational and social development outcomes for children and families in the South Providence neighborhood.

Family Service of RI is a statewide non-profit human service and educational organization. More information is available at www.familyserviceri.org.