My AmeriCorps Adventure

By Deborah Fritts, AmeriCorps volunteer coordinator with Reading Partners Tulsa

Before joining AmeriCorps I worked for my tribe, Cherokee Nation for 18 years in various positions. For the last 10 of those years, I ran the Cherokee Art Market. This yearly intertribal art market brought together the top Native artists from all over the United States to Oklahoma. I loved working with and getting to know all of my artists and forming friendships with many of them. I felt I was doing something important not just for my tribe but for other tribes, helping the artists to grow, as well as learning from them, sharing and promoting Native art and our histories in the world. 

After a while, I decided it was time for a new chapter in my life. I quit my job in January of 2023, starting what I like to refer to as my adventure. My mother had left me a house in Ajijic, Mexico so I put my two dogs in the car and we drove the 2 ½ days from Tulsa to Ajijic. I spent a lovely two months walking all around exploring the village, strolling on the Malecon while people watching or sometimes just sitting looking at Lake Chapala and the beautiful scenery. I also spent time with friends who live there as well as eating a lot of guacamole. Eventually, it was time to come home. 

Once back in Tulsa, I started working part-time at L’Occitane at a local outdoor mall. I worked there a little over a year before I started thinking about what my next adventure might be. Fate intervened when I was talking with my friend Kay, who shared with me what she was doing serving as an AmeriCorps program coordinator with Reading Partners. It sounded wonderful, I had always liked to volunteer, doing what I could to make the world a better place and now I could get paid for it. She encouraged me to apply and here I am, serving happily as an AmeriCorps volunteer coordinator for Reading Partners. 

When I initially applied with AmeriCorps I missed the deadline by a day to be able to start in October 2024, so I applied again and started November 4th of 2024. At first, I was bummed that I would have to wait, but it turned out to be a blessing because I had been doing a lot of volunteer work for local campaigns as well as GOTV (Get Out The Vote) with the Terence Crutcher Foundation, a local, non-partisan organization. The timing could not have been more perfect to start my new adventure.

Serving with AmeriCorps at Reading Partners has been such a positive experience. There have been a few struggles, like going from a PC to a Mac and learning the computer systems they use, but I am adjusting. Everyone at Reading Partners has been so supportive, they make it easy for me to ask for help if I need it. I like the variety that comes with the position. 

I tutor three days a week, which I love. At first, I was nervous, but between the curriculum and the supportive program coordinator, it didn’t take long before I started to feel confident in my tutoring skills. I still get a little nervous, but it’s not even been two months, so I give myself grace. The children are so wonderful, I like the feeling of making a difference in their lives and helping them learn. Being a voracious reader myself, reading has always made me happy, and hope I can help instill that within them. Plus, sometimes a child will give me a little hug, it warms my heart, making me feel like I’m doing ok. 

I’m in charge of contacting new volunteer leads to sign them up for tutor orientation. I assist with the Tutor Orientation and am still nervous about doing it right, however, as I stated before, my Reading Partners colleagues are so supportive, they make me feel comfortable learning what all I need to know. I like watching the orientation presentation, meeting all of the future volunteers, listening to their questions, and learning from the answers they are given. 

We also have tabling events, where we set up a table to inform people about Reading Partners and encourage them to sign up to volunteer as tutors with us. It’s usually a fun time, we get to meet new people, learn about whatever event we are at, and spread the word about Reading Partners at the same time.

My AmeriCorps term ends this summer, my hope is that I will get to stay for another year or more because I am truly enjoying this adventure. 

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Photo: Rachel (left) and Deborah (right) at a Reading Partners tabling event