Philadelphia Experience Corps engages the time, talent and experience of retirees and older adults to support schools in improving the reading and literacy skills of children in grades K-3. Experience Corps tutors provide intensive and ongoing 1:1 instructional support in reading and literacy to over 2,000 students in over 20 schools in Philadelphia. Each year Philadelphia Experience Corps members provide nearly 100,000 hours of service to Philadelphia schools. Experience Corps tutors also establish parent outreach, creating a strong link between the tutor, student and parent/caregiver. Working in teams of 7-10, Experience Corps provides a strong and supportive community presence within each of its partner schools.
Philadelphia Experience Corps is one of the five original national Experience Corps demonstration sites and has been in continuous operation since 1996. Over the years, Philadelphia Experience Corps has received a variety of awards including the National Council on Aging's Promising Practice Award, the Points of Light Foundation's Daily Point of Light Award and the U.S. Administration on Aging's Program Excellence Award. Philadelphia Experience Corps was highlighted in Harvard Author and Researcher, Robert Putnam's Better Together and Civic Ventures founder, Marc Freedman's Prime Time: How Baby Boomers Will Revolutionize Retirement and Transform America. Philadelphia Experience Corps has also been highlighted in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News, Mother Jones, TIME Magazine, US News & World Report and USA Today, as well as ABC Morning News, the NBC Evening News and on NPR. In 2007, Philaldephia City Council honored Experience Corps for 10 years of service to the children of Philadelphia.
In addition to serving as tutors, Experience Corps members also serve in a variety of other leadership program support roles, including field and site coordination and management, administrative support, fundraising, training and advocacy.