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Experience Corps impact
Educators, members and community leaders
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MEMBER PROFILE
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Raul Castaneda, classroom aide turned Experience Corps member (and award winner), San Francisco

I joined Experience Corps because: When I retired years ago, I was looking for something to do. I saw an Experience Corps flyer at the library, and I called the organization. It's been a great experience working in the schools because I'm a bilingual tutor.

The best part of being an Experience Corps member is : The immediate result I see every day when I work with the children one-on-one.

I like to tell the story about: I have a student this year from Mexico. This last year I've been working with her one-on-one for 45 minutes every day, and she's more open and has friends. Also, last year, I worked with a third-grade boy. He had to go back to Mexico, and I visited him, bringing him letters from his old classmates. I want to visit him every year.

I'm sticking with Experience Corps because: I've learned the last three years that a strong base in elementary school is important for moving from elementary to middle school -- you have to have a strong curriculum.

Read about Raul's recent award!

"It's like a job. You have goals. You see results" -Yuriy, Experience Corps Member

Experience Corps Boston The Experience Corps program of Greater Boston is hosted by Generations Incorporated. Generations Incorporated recruits, trains, and supports hundreds of senior citizens to serve as volunteers to thousands of children who are not proficient in literacy. Since 1998, our innovative partnership with Experience Corps has engaged older adults to tutor and mentor children one-on-one and in small groups to improve reading skills and create mutually-beneficial relationships. In 2008, we brought our program to the community of Revere, partnering with three elementary schools in an effort to expand into Greater Boston.

Through our programs, volunteers help elementary age children recover lost ground before reading problems affect their academic performance and limit their future opportunities. Students receiving one-on-one literacy instruction through our program have improved their literacy skills by 60%, compared to those not receiving special instruction.

Since most of our members live in the communities we serve, relationships developed through our programs extend beyond the school day, as they bond with families and improve neighborhood relations. It is easy to measure literacy gains, but the intergenerational relationships are invaluable. For almost twenty years, Generations Incorporated has worked to connect older adults with the children who need them most. Today, we remain dedicated to bringing the most impactful literacy program to the children of Greater Boston, by engaging the region's fastest growing human resource: older adults.

For more information on Generations Incorporated and Greater Boston's Experience Corps program, visit our website
 

Experience Corps in Boston
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Mary Gunn
Executive Director
Generations Incorporated
Phone: 617-423-5865
mgunn@generationsinc.org

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Celebrating People in Action!
"In the 21st century, the best anti-poverty program around is a world-class education. And in this country, the success of our children cannot depend more on where they live than on their potential."

-President Obama, "State of the Union," January 27, 2010
"Together, we can continue our commitment to education innovation by investing in Experience Corps, a program that helps elementary students by increasing the number of older adult tutors and mentors in the classroom. Independent research shows that Experience Corps works: Third-grade reading and math scores are rising and students feel safer at school."

-Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, State of the City Speech, February 22, 2010