Foster grandparents from around the area help wish Dothory Holt (center with plaque) a happy retirement after 30 years with the Foster Grandparent program. From left, Georgia Douglas, Clevonna Jones, Rosa Williams, Irene Fleming, Brenda Bell, Mrs. Holt, Dorothy Shumaker, Darlean Rankin, Shirley Pinkins and Mytle Williamson.
ARDMORE (Okla.) - A dynamic Native American woman who has been a fixture on the Carter Seminary Campus for more than three decades years, has traded in her beloved job for a passport and a suitcase.
Dorothy Holt, Ardmore Foster Grandparent area coordinator, was honored in a retirement celebration Friday, Dec.10 at the Chickasaw Nation Culinary Arts Center in Ardmore.
Mrs. Holt was hired in 1980 to promote the Foster Grandparent program to area schools and recruit the grandparents to participate. Foster Grandparents is a federal program that matches senior citizens to special-needs children in the classroom. Carter Seminary was one of the first schools in the nation to participate in the program.
“It was the only Foster Grandparent site in Carter County, 15 grandparents worked in the Carter Seminary dorm,” said Mrs. Holt.
She said her position as site supervisor allowed her to work with both children and older people, thus combing two things she loved the most.
She estimates she helped enhance the lives of about 9,000-10,000 children throughout her 30 years of working with the Foster Grandparent program.
For years, her office was on the campus of the Carter Seminary. Most recently, it was in a corner of the gymnasium.
Before Carter Seminary was her office, it was her home.
She attended school here from 1940 to 1947.
“I’ve been on this campus more than half my life,” she laughed.
She now has plans to travel abroad with her sister. First stop: Italy.
Mrs. Holt, a Choctaw citizen, also makes frequent visits to the Chickasaw Nation senior site for lunch, and will continue after retirement.
Foster Grandparents Today
Today, the Delta Community Action oversees schools in six counties, Carter, Marshall, Johnston, Murray, Stephens and Comanche.
Foster Grandparents serve in classrooms in Carter, Marshall, Johnston and Murray counties, including; Ardmore, Davis, and Sulphur Public Schools, Oklahoma School for the Deaf, Ardmore Children’s Shelter, and area Head Starts; including the Chickasaw Nation, INCA and Big 5 Head Start, and the Chickasaw Nation Children’s Village in Kingston.
“Foster grandparents play a special role in the lives of many young people,” said Bill Anoatubby, Governor of the Chickasaw Nation. “There is a unique bond between grandparents and grandchildren and these foster grandparents help these students enjoy the benefits of that kind of nurturing relationship.”
The program is celebrating its 45th year.
Foster Grandparent Program Director Mynan Hutto said Lyndon Johnson established the foster grandparent program because he believed grandparents play an important role in the lives of children.
Foster Grandparents provide a variety of educational assistance, nurturing and support for students, easing the burden of the classroom teacher, she added.
For more information about the Foster Grandparent program, contact Mynan Hutto or Karen Nichols, Delta Community Action at 580-252-4085.
