| For Immediate Release: December 17, 2007 |
For more information, contact: Sarah Priestman, 202-478-6159 spriestman@experiencecorps.org |
City Council Honors Philadelphia Experience Corps
Program Brings 400 Tutors to Forty City Schools
WASHINGTON, DC — The Philadelphia City Council passed a resolution on November 29 honoring Experience Corps for its 10 years of dedication to improving literacy in the city’s public schools. Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds Brown sponsored the resolution.
"Experience Corps shows us that we cannot meet the needs of our children alone," said Superintendent Shirl E. Gilbert, II, PhD, of Philadelphia"s West Regional Office. "Experience Corps members bring the strength of the community into the schools."
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Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds Brown (right) sponsored the resolution and Robert Tietze, (center) director of Experience Corps Philadelphia, and Rosalie Buckner, (left) regional director with Experience Corps, took the opportunity to honor the Experience Corps tutors in attendance. Source: Kelly & Massa photography |
AARP Pennsylvania and Councilwoman Reynolds Brown co-hosted a celebratory breakfast.
"The Philadelphia Experience Corps Program has served as a vehicle to provide AARP members a way to give back to their community," said Maureen Mckoy, Associate State Director for AARP, Pennsylvania. "They find the experience to be rewarding, and the schools also benefit. The program is a win for all involved."
The Experience Corps Philadelphia program began in two schools in 1996. Today, the program brings 400 members to more than 40 schools, reaching 5,000 students. The program is hosted by Temple University’s Center for Intergenerational Learning
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Experience Corps, an award-winning program, engages people over 55 in meeting their communities' greatest challenges. Today, in 19 cities across the country, 2,000 Experience Corps members tutor and mentor elementary school students struggling to learn to read. Independent research shows that Experience Corps boosts student academic performance, helps schools and youth-serving organizations become more successful, and enhances the well-being of the older adults in the process. Experience Corps is a signature program of Civic Ventures.
