Editor’s note: We’re delighted to present the second installment in our latest blog series, Giving Thanks. As everyone prepares to celebrate Thanksgiving, we feel this is the perfect time to invite KidWorks’ friends and families to share a little about what they are most thankful for. Look for another installment next week!
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If you ask a teacher what she’s especially thankful for, it’s not surprising that the value of education is right at the top of the list.
In fact, the love of learning and teaching is a common thread that’s woven throughout Elizabeth Nilsen-Doble’s life.
Elizabeth Nilsen-Doble
This KidWorks volunteer was a teacher in New York and California for four decades. Now, she generously brings that wealth of experience to us when she serves as a tutor and after school program volunteer at our Dan Donahue Center.
“I taught in both public schools locally in Cypress and in an independent school in Brooklyn Heights, New York,” she says. “I especially loved the sense of challenge and wonder I saw in my sixth grade students. I’m grateful to have worked with so many incredible young people and their families across the years.”
Elizabeth is also quick to express thanks to her parents and the church.
“My parents immigrated to the United States from Norway,” she says. “I was the eldest of four children. They took us to church, taught us to be responsible and cheered us on whenever we worked hard and made progress.”
Elizabeth is also grateful for the fellowship she enjoyed at the Lutheran church in Brooklyn when she was growing up. She is now equally thankful to be part of the congregation at St. Andrews Presbyterian Church in Newport Beach. That’s where she first heard about KidWorks.
“At KidWorks, I always find lots of smiling faces, and students filled with energy and a love of learning,” she says.
Elizabeth Nilsen-Doble and family
Elizabeth perfectly summarizes her own feelings during this season of thankfulness:
“I thank God for health, friends and all the family. Above all, I thank God for His Love, for His peace, for His strength.”
By Glenn Leibowitz, Volunteer Content Writer