Volunteering at the Tiny Tim Center is a family tradition for Julia Richardson-Staver. Her father Jim Richardson was a board member. "I remember as a kid attending functions at Tiny Tim," she said. "When I came back from school, I wanted to give back to the community. Since my dad was involved at Tiny Tim, I looked into that. I fell in love with the kids and their program."

The Tiny Tim Center provides preschool education and therapeutic services to children with and without special needs. Their main goal is to give developmentally disabled children a way to maximize their potential while minimizing the effects of their disability.

Richardson-Staver is vice president of the board and director of the personnel committee. Once a month she takes time from her busy schedule as owner of Alpine Physical Therapy to provide treats to Tiny Tim's staff.

"Julia's intent was to be sure that the people working directly with the children were being appreciated," said Tiny Tim's executive director Teedee Keister. "She knew the salary schedule was lower than what their credentials warranted, so she took it upon herself to bring them goodies such as movie tickets or candy. It's been huge in terms of staff morale knowing the board values them. She single-handedly bridged the working relationship between the board and staff through her understanding that individuals need to be appreciated."

Helping special-needs children makes volunteering worthwhile for Richardson-Staver. "Tiny Tim gives them an avenue to live a normal life," she said. Richardson-Staver cannot wait for her son to continue the family connection to Tiny Tim. He will attend Tiny Tim's preschool in September 2005. "By then, they'll be in their new building," she said. "He couldn't be in a better place."

For information about volunteering with the Tiny Tim Center or other agencies, call the Volunteer Connection East at 303-772-5772.