FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Hillary John
AARP Media Relations
202-434-2560
July 11, 2012
AARP Experience Corps Awarded Multi-Million Dollar Grant from Corporation for National and Community Service
Funding Will Help Further the Work of Older Adult Volunteer Tutoring Program for K-3 Students
(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – July 11, 2012 – AARP Experience Corps today announced it received more than $1.7 million in award funding from the Corporation for National and Community Service to continue its nationally-recognized tutoring and mentoring programs in 10 cities for the 2012 – 2013 school year. AARP Experience Corps programs receiving the grant award include: Baltimore City, Bay Area (San Francisco, Oakland and Marin), Boston, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Philadelphia, Portland, Ore., and Washington, D.C.
AARP Experience Corps is one of the nation’s most highly-regarded service programs that engage older adult volunteers to help improve K-3 literacy in underserved schools.
The Corporation for National and Community Service awarded the AARP Experience Corps grant as part of $213 million in new AmeriCorps grants. The grants are offered to strengthen the impact of more than 275 organizations across the country in tackling the most pressing challenges facing communities and the nation. Experience Corps has been a recipient of the grant since 2001.
“We’re delighted that the Corporation for National and Community Service is continuing its support of AARP Experience Corps,” said Lester Strong, CEO, AARP Experience Corps. “Our volunteer members play an important role in the lives of students in kindergarten through third grade – a time when reading literacy is most critical – and this grant will help further the valuable work of each and every tutor in many traditionally underserved schools and communities.”
About Experience Corps
Experience Corps has a track record of improving literacy among American youth. According to research from Washington University in St. Louis, students working with Experience Corps tutors gain more than a 60 percent boost in two critical literacy skills - sounding out new words and reading comprehension - over similar students not being served by Experience Corps. Additionally, 84 percent of its volunteers reported the participation has changed their lives for the better - including increased motivation, knowledge, confidence and skills. Currently, 2,000 AARP Experience Corps volunteers serve 20,000 K-3 students in schools across the country. For more information, go to www.aarp.org/experiencecorps.
About AARP
AARP is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization with millions of members that helps people 50+ have independence, choice and control in ways that are beneficial to them and society as a whole. AARP does not endorse candidates for public office or make contributions to either political campaigns or candidates. We produce AARP The Magazine, the definitive voice for Americans 50+ and the world's largest-circulation magazine; AARP Bulletin, the go-to news source for the 50+ audience, AARP VIVA, a bilingual lifestyle multimedia platform addressing the interests and needs of Hispanic Americans; and national television and radio programming including My Generation and Inside E Street. The AARP Foundation is an affiliated charity that provides security, protection, and empowerment to older persons in need with support from thousands of volunteers, donors, and sponsors. AARP has staffed offices in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Learn more at www.aarp.org.
###
