Magician helps less fortunate kids get a head start

Jamie Salinas will soon take over as president of the Texas Association of Magicians.

“At my day job, I manage tech support for the Harris County Department of Education. We provide support services to all the schools in the county. Along with that, I volunteer through our head start programs. I read to children once a month at two different schools. These are kids who may come from broken homes or disadvantaged parts of town. The head start program basically makes sure they don’t fall through the cracks and aren’t behind when they enter public school.

“As a magician, I do lots of kids shows, parties and family-type events, so I’m really good with kids. When one of the principals told me about this mentor program where people from the community come in and read to the kids, I thought it sounded like a great opportunity.

“A lot of these kids don’t have fathers or a male role model in their lives. I love seeing how some of them who start out real quiet and shy when I meet them are interacting with other students and so open to learning by the end of the year.

“To me, life is about learning. It’s a good feeling to know that in some small way, I’m helping them to open up and be ready to learn.”