The AARP 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 reading and writing. Since 1998, our innovative partnership with AARP 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 September 2008, Generations Incorporated launched the AARP Experience Corps program in Revere.
Through our programs, volunteers help elementary age children recover lost ground before reading problems affect their academic performance and limit their opportunities. Students receiving one-on-one literacy instruction through our program have improved their literacy skills by 60 percent, compared to those not receiving special instruction.
Since most of our members live in the communities we serve, relationships that are 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 20 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.
Program Launch: 1998
Program Data (2011-2012 school year)
Students served: 3,200
Volunteer members: 300
Hours logged: 60,034
Schools/centers served: 17
Program Impact
In the 2011-2012 school year:
- 92 percent of teachers rated AARP Experience Corps volunteer members in the classroom assistance program as being good or excellent in their ability to address student learning needs
- Of the students whose overall reading skills were rated as being below grade level at the beginning of the year, 70 percent were rated as having improved by the end of the year
- 98 percent of volunteer members were satisfied with the guidance they received from AARP Experience Corps site coordinators and staff
Contact:
Executive Director, Generations Incorporated
Mary Gunn
617-423-5865
mgunn@generationsinc.org
Recruitment:
Kathryn Klister
kklister@generationsinc.org
617-399-4700
