Program Details
Year of Experience Corps project launch: 1998
Students served: 2,500 every week and an additional 2,500 annually in one time community service
Grades/ages of students served: K-5
Experience Corps participants: 301
Participant hours logged last school year: 55,000 (2008)
Neighborhoods served: Dorchester, Dorchester, Roxbury, South Boston and Jamaica Plain (all neighborhoods in the city of Boston)
Schools/Centers served:
Dorchester
Blue Hill Avenue Boys and Girls Club
Thomas J. Kenny Elementary School
Joseph Lee Elementary School
Lee Academy
John Marshall Elementary School
Roxbury
Ralph Waldo Emerson Elementary School
David A. Ellis Elementary School
Nathan Hale Elementary School
Orchard Gardens Elementary School
Roxbury Boys and Girls Club
St. Stephens After-School
William Blackstone Elementary School
Joseph Hurley Elementary School
Mission Hill School
South Boston
South Boston Boys and Girls Club
Michael Perkins Elementary School
Jamaica Plain
J.F. Kennedy Elementary School
Requirements for members: Are you 55 or older? Do you have spare time? Can you make a commitment? We are looking for older adults who want to help elementary school children succeed in school and life. Volunteer as little as one hour per week (volunteers that make a larger time commitment may be eligible for a stipend). Volunteers also participate in pre-service training and attend ongoing trainings throughout the year.
New this year: we've developed new and exciting leadership positions for older adults. Positions include: Experience Corps Lead, Site Coordinator, and Cluster Manager. Stipends available. For more information and to apply, visit our website at www.generationsinc.org.
Current Programs
Literacy & Mentoring Activities:
- Reading Coaches: Members meet with 1st-4th grade students twice per week in intensive, one-on-one instruction sessions to help struggling readers recover lost ground.
- Classroom Literacy: Members serve alongside teachers in K-4th grade classrooms during the literacy instruction block to help reinforce school curriculum and build students' reading skills.
- Kindergarten Project: As with Classroom Literacy, members serve alongside teachers in kindergarten classrooms. Members engage children in exercises focused on oral development and healthy play.
- Lunchtime Mentors: Members meet with 4th and 5th grade students in fun, engaging, one-on-one weekly activities that lead to meaningful intergenerational relationships.
Partners and Funders
Lead Agency: Generations Incorporated
Partners: Boston Literacy Volunteer Collaborative, including: Boston Partners in Education, JumpStart, City Year, Everybody Wins, Greater Boston Jewish Coalition for Literacy, Massachusetts Service Alliance; AARP; AmeriCorps; AmeriCorpsVISTA; Urban League of Eastern Massachusetts; and other numerous civic and neighborhood associations.
2008 Funders: We benefit from a diverse group of private, corporate, and individual funders.
Major instutional funders include: Anonymous (x3), Atlantic Philanthropies (via Experience Corps), Bain Capital Children's Charities, Boston Campaign for Proficiency, Corporation for National & Community Service, Cabot Family Charitable Trust, Hestia Fund, Herbert H. Fletcher Trust managed by BNY Mellon, Klarman Family Foundation, Liberty Mutual Foundation, Ludcke Foundation, Mabel Louis Riley Foundation, Massachusetts Service Alliance (AmeriCorps), Proctor & Gamble, Roxbury Trust, State Street, US Department of Education - Office of Safe & Drug Free Schools
Partners: Boston Literacy Volunteer Collaborative, including: Boston Partners in Education, JumpStart, City Year, Everybody Wins, Greater Boston Jewish Coalition for Literacy, Massachusetts Service Alliance; AARP; AmeriCorps; AmeriCorps
2008 Funders: We benefit from a diverse group of private, corporate, and individual funders.
Major instutional funders include: Anonymous (x3), Atlantic Philanthropies (via Experience Corps), Bain Capital Children's Charities, Boston Campaign for Proficiency, Corporation for National & Community Service, Cabot Family Charitable Trust, Hestia Fund, Herbert H. Fletcher Trust managed by BNY Mellon, Klarman Family Foundation, Liberty Mutual Foundation, Ludcke Foundation, Mabel Louis Riley Foundation, Massachusetts Service Alliance (AmeriCorps), Proctor & Gamble, Roxbury Trust, State Street, US Department of Education - Office of Safe & Drug Free Schools