Thursday, January 27, 2011
Photo of the Week: January 27, 2011
Reading Together at the Blue Hill Boys & Girls Club in Dorchester
Monday, January 24, 2011
Raising the Bar for Excellence
Generations Incorporated is all about high standards–for our people, our programs, and our partners. That’s why we were delighted when Experience Corps, one of our most important partners, recently issued its “National Growth Strategy”. This document spells out how Experience Corps will double in size over the next 5 years and the new service standards that will be required in order for expansion to be successful.
Photograph by Maria Barletta
Growth of this magnitude can only be sustainable with a framework of finely-tuned but innovative systems that ensures excellence, encourages replicability, has a multi-year revenue plan, and solid management.
The new standards will affect all Experience Corps affiliates around the nation. Generations Incorporated is ahead of the curve with the implementation of many of these changes:
1. A focus on literacy in Kindergarten through Grade 3 that allows us to devote all of our resources to the youngest children and to make an impact in the earliest grades. It also aligns with Boston Public School priorities for literacy.
2. A requirement of 20 hours of training for all Experience Corps members, doubling our current number of training hours. With the new “Training to Go” program, we make it possible for members to receive training in the exact location where they serve. We have sharpened our training, focusing on the literacy needs of schools and after school programs.
3. Doubling the amount of time dedicated to Classroom Literacy. Our volunteers will make an 8 hour per week commitment to serve inside a classroom. This is welcome news to classroom teachers, giving them another resource for literacy support. Teacher requests for this program are at an all-time high and we currently serve 87 classrooms.
4. A goal that each student in the Reading Coaches Program will receive at least 35 sessions per year. We know from the 2007 Washington University study that students who receive at least 35 sessions show greater increases in basic literacy skills than those who attend fewer sessions. We are working very hard with our school partners and with parents to meet this goal.
5. All Experience Corps members will serve minimally 5 hours per week. Generations Incorporated is one of the few affiliates that rely very heavily on non-stipended volunteers. Only 1 in 3 volunteers receive a stipend and they agree to serve at least 8 hours per week. Asking others to increase their commitment has been met with enthusiasm. This commitment is one of the highest in the country for any volunteer program.
High standards only work when their implementation works. The Experience Corps Program at Generations Incorporated is on the cutting edge of this implementation. We look forward to the growth of this important program in the coming months and years.
Monday, January 24, 2011
Experience Corps Member Receives Bishop Cheverus Award
At the end of November, one of our volunteers was honored as an “unsung heroine” of her Diocese and her community by her receipt of the Bishop Cheverus Award. Thelma Fearn, a dedicated Experience Corps Member at the Emerson School in Roxbury explains that this award is given in honor of the first Bishop of the Boston Diocese, a man who was devoted to serving his community though the church. Thelma received her award, along with 98 other members of her church, at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross in the South End by Cardinal Seán P. O’Malley. This honor was more than deserved; in addition to the ten hours each week Thelma spends reading with students at the Emerson, she also finds time to serve on our board, sing in her parish choir, volunteer in religious education, visit sick parishioners through the Legion of Mary, and even participate in the Knights of St. Peter Claver Ladies’ Auxiliary which takes her to Suffolk County House of Corrections to provide inmates with regular Sunday services.
True to the nature of the award, Thelma’s reaction to her recognition is humble, and she sees this honor as a tribute to those she serves alongside as well. “I have been associated with so many wonderful people,” she says, “I feel fortunate to be a part of all these activities and to serve others.”
Thelma reflects on her ten years with Generations Incorporated and over 40 years as a part of her parish, “I never would have expected this award in a million years. It’s very fulfilling and very rewarding. It’s so satisfactory that you never think of it as something you did because you get so much out of it.” As far as we are concerned, we’re extremely fortunate to have such a fantastic volunteer, and we equally grateful and proud that her commitment to her community is recognized elsewhere as well. Thelma is certainly an inspiration to us and I know that her students will reap huge benefits from having her as a role model in their lives.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Photo of the Week: January 20, 2011
Experience Corps Member Dan Houton and Student About to Start a New Book
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Photo of the Week: January, 13, 2011
Experience Corps Member Anita reads with Amariana over at the Yawkey Boy's & Girls Club.
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Photo of the Week: January 6, 2010
Reading Together at the Chelsea Boy's and Girls Club
Monday, January 3, 2011
Huffington Post Article On the Benefits of Experience Corps “This Holiday Season, Boost Your Brain by Giving of Yourself”
Thea Singer, Posted December 17, 2010
When Emily Lewis moved her mother, who’d been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, to a nursing facility, her own physical symptoms began.
At night she’d wake with a start, terrified: Her mother’s care cost some $6,000 a month, and the trust her father had left them was dwindling. “I can bluff my way through a lot, but the reality was, how was I going to pay for next month?” she says. Her blood pressure soared — and for the first time in her life she had to take blood-pressure medication.
She began seeing a psychotherapist and turned to her three dogs for comfort. But she also coped bygiving support.
Continue reading the entire article here.
