Nancy Yarry of Brooksville has a daughter graduating from the University of Florida. She is also going back to school to finish a bachelor's degree.
There's one other thing she's doing, too. A while back, Yarry's daughter told her about a campus visit by recruiters for Florida's guardian ad litem program. She suggested to her mom: You used to be a preschool teacher, why not volunteer for this?
The more Yarry thought about it, the more it appealed to her. So she looked up the program on the Internet. She finally called Hernando County's guardian ad litem office and went through the 30-hour training session.
That was more than a year ago. Now Yarry is keeping track of the court cases of two kids who have been abused or neglected. It is one of the most rewarding experiences of her life, she says.
"You go into it with a notion you'll be helping children," Yarry, 47, told me. "But when you actually take an action in court, speaking for the best interest of the child - and the court listens to your recommendations - well, it's extremely rewarding to know you've contributed to the well-being of a child."
You could do this, too.
They could sure use your help.
No matter what county you live in, there are a lot of kids who need a guardian ad litem and don't have one.
What's involved? We're not talking about being a "guardian" in the sense of being a foster parent, or being legally responsible for raising a child. Neither is it a mentoring or Big Brother/Big Sister relationship.
Here is what a guardian ad litem does. He or she is a volunteer, assigned to a child who has been abused or neglected and is in the court system. Maybe the kid has been taken from home, or maybe not.
The guardian checks out the case personally, interviewing the family, the experts and other relevant parties. The guardian makes home visits and gets to know the child. The guardian makes sure the best interest of the child is presented to the judge.
You might be saying: "What do I know about all that stuff? I'm no investigator. I'm no lawyer. I don't know anything about going to court or what to say to a judge."
But they teach you that. And the staff of your local guardian office then stays with you, working with you, supporting you, always just a phone call away.
It's not legal know-how that they need from you. What they need is good people who care. All you have to be is 19 or older, and pass a criminal background check.
Having said that, I should tell you this is really tough volunteer work. It's not for everybody.
You have to have a thick skin. Some families are going to resent you. So, for that matter, might the professional bureaucracy at times. Of course, everybody is trying to do the right thing, but you're the only person solely responsible for speaking for the child.
You have to take time out of your schedule to go to court, and it's not like they jump up and rearrange their docket for you.
As for reimbursement - sorry, not a dime, not even for mileage.
"By lunchtime of the first training day," says Terri Stewart, who recruits and trains guardians in Hernando, Citrus and three other counties, "they either know that yes, this is for me, or no - I'm out of here."
Having heard the good and the bad, if you'd like to volunteer or just learn more, here's how to do it in this part of Florida.
* Citrus County doesn't hold a new training session until later this year, but you can sign up now, or even take your training in a neighboring county. Call (352) 341-6725.
* Hernando County is gearing up for a new training session July 12-16. Call (352) 754-4226.
* Pasco County residents should contact Jodi Bixler in New Port Richey at (727) 834-3493.
* Pinellas County's guardian ad litem program runs five training sessions a year, and the next one starts a week from today. Call Charlie Abela at (727) 464-6528.
* Hillsborough County's next training session starts July 6. Call (813) 272-5110.
