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

PHILADELPHIA, November 1, 2006 – As a teacher in the Philadelphia public school system, Dwight Evans saw firsthand the importance of effective tutoring programs and positive adult role models in the development of successful students. In 1980, Evans was elected to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, but he never forgot what he learned in the classroom.

Philadelphia Experience Corps Director Rob Tietze holds the check for $500,000 along with Rep. Dwight Evans, Experience Corps members, and students, faculty and administration at Shawmont Elementary School

Now a longstanding champion of Experience Corps and chair of the state legislature's Appropriations Committee, Evans recently hailed the program and presented Experience Corps Philadelphia with a check for $500,000. The check, a state grant recognizing the impact Experience Corps has on student performance, was awarded in the presence of dozens of Experience Corps members and the second, third, and fourth grade students they tutor at Shawmont Elementary School.

"It is said that a society should be judged based on how it treats its elderly, its young, and its most vulnerable," Evans told the crowd. "If this is the case, then Experience Corps stands as a beacon of hope and a perfect model of how to best serve all three at once."

Hosted by the Temple University Center for Intergenerational Learning, Experience Corps Philadelphia is the largest of 19 Experience Corps programs nationwide. Philadelphia members tutor students in 42 public elementary schools, about one third of the city’s total elementary schools. Last year in Philadelphia, 500 Experience Corps members logged over 190,000 working with 4,500 struggling students.

"Experience Corps provides a match made in heaven: children in need with senior volunteers willing to help," Evans said. "Thousands of children and countless seniors have found mutual benefit through this program, and I am delighted to play a role in ensuring that this continues to take place. I am proud to provide these resources to this exceptional program."

In introducing Evans, Experience Corps Philadelphia Director Robert Tietze praised his unflagging support for Experience Corps. "Representative Evans has been one of our guardian angels from the very beginning," Tietze said. "This wonderful support will allow us to continue recruiting and training teams of older adults who will provide critical services to thousands of Philadelphia students."

Shawmont principal Michael Graff also praised the program, which he called "one of the single most effective interventions for kids I’ve ever seen. It bridges the gaps that have to be bridged."

Experience Corps member Howard Gilpin agreed, adding that, "In this country, we don’t recognize children or old people. That’s what I love about Experience Corps — it does both."

Patricia Schuyler, another Experience Corps member, explained what drew her to the program: "When you work, you have buddies, you solve problems, you celebrate together. But when you retire, you lose all that. For us lucky ones, we hear about Experience Corps, and a door opens."

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Experience Corps, a national service program for Americans over 55, works to show that older adults are an untapped national resource and can be engaged to help solve serious social problems, including illiteracy. Today more than 1,800 Experience Corps members serve as tutors and mentors to children in urban public schools and after-school programs, where they help teach children to read and develop the confidence and skills to succeed in school and in life. Research shows that Experience Corps boosts student academic performance, helps schools and youth-serving organizations become more successful, strengthens ties between these institutions and surrounding neighborhoods, and enhances the well-being of the volunteers in the process. Experience Corps is a signature program of Civic Ventures.