Sunday, December 25, 2011
Patriots Celebrate Volunteerism: Senior Advocate Week “Investing the Community in the School”
Florence Slepian started volunteering in a K2 classroom at Blackstone Community School in the South End in October 2011. “Blackstone was recommended to me when I went through the training. I’ve worked with kids all my life. It’s my way of giving back to society for all that I’ve been given,” she says.
Florence leads small-group literacy activities two mornings per week, assisting the teacher in a variety of ways. Recently, she took a student who was having a difficult morning on a walk around the school. “If there hadn’t been someone else there, she wouldn’t have been able to leave class. After we walked around, she was able to go back into class and work. I find the response of the kids to the attention I can give beyond what the teacher can do the most rewarding part of being at Blackstone,” she says.
Early on during her service, Florence noticed that many of the students in the class had very poor dental hygiene. Fortunately, dentists from Boston University School of Dental Medicine came to Blackstone to talk to the students about taking care of their teeth. They brought a toothbrush for each student, but no toothpaste.
Florence took it upon herself to make sure that each student had toothpaste to take home as well. “I went to my dentist, and I said, ‘I’ve given you a lot of business over the years. Now it’s time for you to do something for me,’” she recalls. Florence secured a donation of toothpaste from her dentist to supply the entire class.
As a thank you for the generous gift, the students made Florence (“Ms. Flo”) several large cards. “They made me close my eyes and block my ears as they gave them to me. I was enormously affected and appreciative of their response, and for the help of their incredible teacher. The cards are now hanging on the wall in my study.”
Story by Dana Moyer
Monday, October 17, 2011
AARP Joins Forces with Experience Corps
AARP, the largest organization in the country that serves seniors, announced today that it is joining forces with Experience Corps, a leading national service program for older adults.
For a decade Generations Incorporated, which is and will continue to be an independent nonprofit organization, has been affiliated with Experience Corps. Our partnership has thrived because of our shared intergenerational missions, the focus on results for kids and older adults, and our collective vision for the powerful contributions that older adults can make to strengthen communities.
Locally, AARP has also been an invaluable partner to Generations Incorporated. Approximately 30% of our 300 Experience Corps members come to us through AARP Massachusetts. They have been an important partner in many of our different endeavors, while helping to shape the Commonwealth’s agenda for older adults.
This merger leverages the combined strengths and resources of AARP and Experience Corps. It will provide AARP with a signature volunteer program that makes a huge difference in the lives of kids and seniors. Experience Corps, in turn, will have access to thousands of AARP members and other significant resources. Collectively, the new organization will be able to serve hundreds of thousands of children who struggle with basic literacy skills.
Generations Incorporated looks forward to continuing our long affiliation with Experience Corps, now called AARP Experience Corps.
For more information please visit www.aarp.org/experiencecorps.
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Photo of the Week: September 8, 2011
Cluster Supervisors, Site Team Leaders, and AmeriCorps Program Associates Getting Ready for the Start of the New Program Year
Friday, September 2, 2011
Photo of the Week: September 1, 2011
Welcome to the new 2011-12 AmeriCorps State Program Associates!
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Photo of the Week: August 4, 2011
This year's AmeriCorps *VISTA members attended pre-service orientation last week and are pictured here being sworn in.
Monday, June 27, 2011
2011: A Landmark Year
2011 was a landmark year for us, with great results for participating kindergarten through third grade students (K-3). We served 2,612 children in one-on-one and small-group literacy programs twice each week, every week. Now, test scores are in. (Drumroll!!) Students in our Reading Coaches program improved key reading skills by 70% more than their peers who did not participate in the program. This success is due to the winning combination of excellent classroom instruction and caring support of our older adult Experience Corps volunteers.
The Reading Coaches program has been proven by Washington University to raise key student literacy skills. But results are greatest for children who receive at least 35 sessions during the program year. To ensure that our students get the greatest boost possible, we track student attendance and make up any missed sessions. This year, an unprecedented 69% of students in our school-based programs passed the 35 session milestone, marking the highest benchmark completion rate since the WU study was released.
We also achieved great results in our Classroom Literacy program. This year 88 classrooms received critical support from our volunteers to work with children in small groups to reinforce teacher instruction. The Classroom Literacy Program is very popular among teachers, with 94% stating that they were very satisfied with the quality of the program this year. In addition, the vast majority of teachers stated that the presence of a reliable, trained volunteer in the classroom gave them the extra time they needed to assist students who were struggling academically, and that our classroom volunteers made a strong impact on improving students’ motivation to learn. Additionally, we increased the number of hours of literacy support for each classroom from an average of 3 hours per week in 2010 to 5 hours in 2011. Next year, we will further increase our presence in classrooms, with a goal of 8 hours of weekly support per classroom.
Our presence in 5 community based after school programs continues to grow. In fact, nearly 40% of our work takes place in these settings, providing much needed academic support to children in after school programs around Boston. Our newest after school partner is the Jordan Boys and Girls in Chelsea, where we served 47 students in Year 1.
Our programs work for all students, even those who have fallen farthest behind, or who are English language learners. This year, more than 30% of our students were English language learners, and these students maximized their literacy gains through participating in individualized tutoring sessions tailored to each child’s specific literacy needs.
This year, the Boston Public Schools recognized the efficacy of our one-on-one and small-group literacy programs. Superintendent Carol Johnson had this to say in June, 2011: “We are so ever grateful to you (the Experience Corps members) for all you do every single day to inspire and give hope to our students. You are having an enormous impact on their lives and our collective future.”
We are excited by our successes this year, and look forward to growing our programs as we continue our partnership with the Boston and Revere Public Schools this fall.
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Photo of the Week: June 16, 2011
AmeriCorps Program Associate Alana Hill and Experience Corps Member Marilyn Miles at the Kenny Elementary School
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Photo of the Week: June 9, 2011
Experience Corps Members at our 10th Annual Volunteer Appreciation Breakfast
Saturday, May 21, 2011
AmeriCorps Week Spotlight: MK Han
AmeriCorps members Mike Hart and MK Han
Why do you serve?
For me, college was a time to learn about myself and grow on an individual level. I did reach out to the community I was in by volunteering at an elementary school once a week, but felt like I could do more. That is why I decided to look into AmeriCorps during my senior year because it provides the opportunity to take the focus off of myself and put my energy into meaningful service. It has been so rewarding, and how funny and awesome it is that I have grown more spending one year focusing on others than I did spending four years focusing on myself!
Can you think of a memorable service experience?
My year of service has been filled with lots of memorable moments: building relationships with the volunteers, breakthroughs with the students, and discovering my strengths and weaknesses. It is the culmination of these individual experiences that has made my AmeriCorps service meaningful.
What would you say to someone who is thinking of serving?
As I was about to graduate college, I didn’t know what I wanted to do. I knew that I needed to do something, and I wanted that something to be meaningful. But I wasn’t ready to make any permanent decisions about my future. AmeriCorps was the perfect solution because here I am making an impact and gaining really meaningful experiences while having the time to figure out what the next stage of my life will hold.
AmeriCorps offers you the opportunity to make a difference but it is ultimately up to you to take on the challenge. So do it!
