June 10, 2004

Volunteer of the Week: Bobbi Janes

After much coaxing, Bobbi Janes agreed to be the volunteer of the week. She is the brainpower behind Bret Harte Middle School’s yearbook. She volunteers countless hours that go unnoticed to her, although not to others.

“I don’t really need a newspaper article. I have what the kids write in my yearbook at the end of the year and that’s recognition enough,” says Janes, who enjoys watching the kids learn how to work together for a common goal: finishing the yearbook.

Janes spends about four days a week in a classroom at Bret Harte, instructing the class of six on how to take pictures, write captions and use the computer equipment to make the pages of their yearbook.
“I was on my yearbook staff in high school,” says Janes. “It’s a lot different now. Everything is on the computer. We send our completed pages out on a CD. It’s great to watch these kids, who haven’t been introduced to this otherwise, learning about it and becoming interested in photography and writing.”

One thing that Janes introduced to Bret Harte this year is a yearbook DVD. “We had taken about 4,000 pictures, and only about 300 get into the yearbook. So we put together a DVD with about 3,000 pictures on it and integrated music to it, and then sold it as a fund-raiser for the yearbook. It’s pretty neat.”

Janes and her husband Mike moved to Almaden after living in Tennessee, where she worked at Fed Ex for 12 years as a systems analyst. Originally from Seattle, she graduated from Central Washington University. They have a son and a daughter, both attending Leland, and who attended Bret Harte in their middle school years. Which is how Janes became involved with the school, but not as a yearbook volunteer.

She participated as a volunteer assistant boys basketball coach for three years, while her son was playing the sport.

“I was always very involved with sports,” she says. Janes participated in softball, volleyball and basketball throughout high school, and continued to be active in sports throughout college, up until a few years ago.

“I always enjoyed working with kids,” she says, and reads aloud one of the messages one child had written that day in her yearbook. “Thank you so much for allowing me to open my eyes to a truly amazing experience. You are truly amazing volunteering your time to do this.”

Janes interviews the students who are interested in yearbook. Only eighth grade students can participate, and they must have an interest in writing, using computers or photography. She enjoys watching the students from different crowds working together and becoming friends.

“In the beginning of the year, you can see that they’re shy and don’t know each other. By the end of the year they’re exchanging phone numbers and wanting to stay in touch. This experience brings them out of their shell a little bit,” says Janes. She is excited to know that one boy in her class this year will be pursuing photography and the yearbook next year in high school.

“This age is great. They’re willing to open up and try out new things. I really enjoy being a part of that,” says Janes.

—By Miranda Schultz