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.
Chelsea/Revere
In September of 2008, Generations Incorporated launched the Experience Corps program in Revere, followed by Chelsea in 2010. Through the programs, Revere and Chelsea residents engage in results-driven intergenerational programs that inspire students and improve schools. Revere and Chelsea are the perfect community for Experience Corps programs as they have a large population of older adults (23% of the population) and the Superintendent, the Mayor, and the School Committee are fully supportive of the launch of the program in three schools.
Experience Corps members in Revere and Chelsea assist youth through literacy coaching and mentoring. Through the program, students receiving one-on-one literacy instruction through our program have improved their literacy skills by 60%, compared to those not receiving special instruction. Through our programs, volunteers help elementary age children recover lost ground before reading problems affect their academic performance and limit their future opportunities.
Generations Incorporated has nearly two decades of experience in running a similar program in the Boston Public Schools and is excited to launch the programs in Revere and Chelsea.
To read the latest on Generations Incorporated and Experience Corps in the Boston area, visit our blog.