Sioux City, Iowa - Becky Atkinson knows treasures come in all shapes and sizes.
As a volunteer at Irving Dual Language Elementary School, Becky has provided staff, students, and families at Irving with everything from groceries and clothing to books and classroom supplies. While her resourcefulness is admirable, it is Becky’s heart that has made her a welcome presence at Irving.
“It’s wonderful to see the joy in others,” says Becky. “If it’s within my power, I am going to help out.”
Prior to her volunteer role, Becky served as a registrar at Irving, a role she held for 13 years before her retirement in 2020. During her time in the school’s main office, her desk became the hub for everything from school fundraisers to problem-solving.
“No matter who was in the office, I tried to bend over backward to help them,” adds Becky.
If her role as registrar wasn’t enough, Becky led several initiatives all aimed at enhancing the school environment for Irving’s staff and students. Her participation in a national book spree program meant first-year teachers at Irving could start the year with new books in their classrooms. Becky’s collection of Hy-Vee receipts routinely resulted in hundreds of dollars for Irving, something she continues to collect today as a school volunteer.
“I always believed that schools should take advantage of any offers or opportunities they could. I was able to get a lot of things for our classrooms because of it,” Becky says.
When she wasn’t focused on collecting items for the building itself, Becky was known for helping Irving families. Because of Becky, Irving would adopt whole families and provide them with a month’s worth of groceries. For 15 years, countless families benefited from this initiative under Becky’s leadership.
In recent years, Becky has spearheaded the creation and collection of treasure jars for the school carnival. Each jar contains miscellaneous unique and colorful items, made especially for kids. It’s just another example of how Becky continues to give back to the Irving community.
“Families have budgets. It’s fun to be able to give their kids something they may not otherwise have,” says Becky, who is also part of several organizations outside of Irving including the Pink Ladies Dart League which has raised thousands of dollars for Siouxlanders battling cancer.
At the end of the day, one of Becky’s greatest gifts is the impact her time and talents have made on others.
“People know someone cares. You can be a friend, you can have expectations, and you can support others so they can achieve their goals. That’s a real treasure.”