Volunteer

Reading At The Racetrack

For horseracing fan Clyde Coatney, the Backside Learning Center offered the perfect opportunity for him to give something back to a community he loves.

Located on Oakdale Avenue, just steps from Churchill Downs, the Backside Learning Center provides educational resources and support for racetrack workers and their families. The center’s programs for both adults and children help them overcome barriers and improve English language skills.

Clyde, a Bowling Green native with an educational background in government and history, worked a long career with Amtrak before choosing to retire in the Schnitzelburg neighborhood of Louisville. For the past two years, he’s spent time volunteering at the learning center, where he helps the children of racetrack workers improve their reading and English skills.

What do you do as a volunteer?

Primarily I volunteer in the Front Runners afterschool program two nights a week. I work with elementary and middle school children, helping them with reading and homework. We work one-on-one to learn new vowel groupings, phonics, and anything to boost their reading skills.

I love it when we’re working with the children, and they learn something new or see something they didn’t know before and walk out empowered with new knowledge. It can be as simple as learning new words or new vowel combinations. When you’re tutoring or helping with homework, and you see the light bulb go on and you know they’re getting it — that’s rewarding.

I’ve also tutored adults learning English as an additional language, and I serve on the programs committee, planning/fundraising committee, and have assisted with individual fundraising drives.

Do you have a favorite volunteer memory?

This summer we hosted a reading boot camp where we brought elementary students in for two weeks to boost their reading skills before the start of the school year. We each worked with one student, providing individual attention for the whole two weeks. My student was going into fourth grade and was so excited and enthusiastic. It was so rewarding to see her learning new things and know that I was helping to set her off on a good trajectory for the new school year.

What advice would you give other older adults interested in volunteering?

Find something that you’re already passionate about. There are lots of great organizations out there, so find something that really resonates with your own values and passions. Be prepared to get more out of it than what you put into it. Volunteering has been so rewarding for me. I’m a lot more active in all aspects of my life because of the energy I get from volunteering. It will change your life.

By Kym Voorhees Raque | Photo by Erika Doll

Today's Transitions / Spring 2025