Sandy Tankoos
Dedicated Volunteers Make The Community A Better Place
Twice a week for the past six years, Sandy Tankoos has volunteered to lead a group of adults in a conversational Spanish class. Students are men and women in their 20s and 30s, all who use services from JARC Florida, an organization that serves people with developmental and intellectual disabilities.
“I am teaching them a lot of common words so that, if they are with somebody who speaks Spanish, they know basic words,” she says. “It’s important and rewarding to see them learn.”
JARC Florida has a network of 10 residential homes and an apartment complex in Boca Raton and Delray Beach along with a learning center for vocational training and social programs.
Tankoos, a former teacher and business owner, relocated from New York to Florida and heard about the volunteer opportunity from her rabbi.
“When the group heard I was a former Spanish teacher, they asked me if I could teach a Spanish class,” she says.
She’s kept her same twice-weekly schedule for six years, teaching students basic conversation to enrich their lives. During the pandemic, she has been leading twice-weekly Zoom classes with residents.
“It’s a bit harder on Zoom, but nevertheless, I have an enthusiastic group, and they show up each week,” Tankoos says. “It’s amazing how much they’re able to learn in such a short time.”
Some students are hired to work at local stores and restaurants, and they say they’re able to communicate with Spanish-speaking co-workers, she says.
Tankoos, now also vice president of fund development for JARC Florida, says she continues to find volunteering for the organization an incredibly rewarding endeavor.
“JARC is very special because everyone here really loves what they are doing and loves the people they are serving in the community,” she says. “There is a oneness of thought that everybody who is involved wants to make this a better place.”
JARC Florida is located at 21160 95th Ave. S., Boca Raton. For more information, call 561-558-2550 or visit jarcfl.org.
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