Volunteer Tutor Stories

We've learned that being someone special to a homeless child doesn't take alot of time.  But the impact is enormous - for both of you! 

Volunteer tutors are the heart and soul of School on Wheels.  Our volunteers come from all backgrounds and professions with one goal: to make a positive difference in the life of a homeless student and to be a consistent positive role model.  Read their stories...

February 2010 - Tutor of the Month, Tamar Chafets

   Tamar Chafets - 'When a child finally trusts an adult and truly depends on them without the fragility and anxiety of not knowing if that person will be there for them is incredible. My students are no longer 'shocked' and amazed that I've shown up to tutor them. They know I will be there for them every week, I believe academic education and emotional education are equally weighted.'
Tamar has been a tutor with School on Wheels for over four years and has worked with many students. You might recognize her name from our orientation training or our Newsletter in 2006. Tamar's most recent student is 17. She met her at the Union Rescue Mission in Los Angeles. She asked Tamar to help correct her English essay and when Tamar showed up the following week with more information, the student was thrilled and she knew she had met a soul mate. Her student is in her senior year at Santa Monica High School and she has gotten involved with the HRW Student Task Force and is spearheading topics for lectures and events. Tamar says of her student..."She is an amazing young lady and when we aren't doing academic things, we talk about boys, clothes and getting her drivers' license.....Being around these kids is like having a vacation from the inside out. I feel replenished, revitalized and it brings perspective, balance and depth to my life. I am truly lucky and fortunate to be a part of School on Wheels."
January 2010 Tutor of the Month - Emily Alvarado

   Emily began volunteering with SOW while she was attending CSULB as a double major in Sociology and Political Science. Her passion for social equality is what initially motivated her to become a volunteer. She chose SOW for several reasons: the primary reason being that she believes as we do that a quality education is an essential part of fighting homelessness and as a member of the community she wanted to make a difference in the life of a homeless child. She says that the people she has met throughout her time with SOW have been ‘amazing and inspirational, I love working at the homeless shelter in Norwalk and although I have since moved further away, my loyalty to the children that live in the shelter has kept me coming back to volunteer and coordinate at the site.”
Regional Coordinator, Paula Buxbaum had this to say about Emily,
“Emily has been an invaluable part of the School on Wheels team for over three years, both as a tutor and Volunteer Tutor Coordinator. She is highly organized, unflappable, patient, and, most importantly, passionate about the School on Wheels mission. She works equally well with shelter staff, tutors and families and is appreciated by all for her professionalism and dedication. Emily has changed the lives of many students and volunteers. We are lucky to have her on our team.”
Renee Longan - January 2010 Tutor of the Month

  

Renee Longan has been married for 20 years and has 2 children, she was a social worker in Texas and when her family moved to California she decided she wanted to volunteer her time to work with children. She looked online and found School on Wheels. She loved the fact that School on Wheels focused on one thing, homeless children and that the services provided were related to its mission. “Other nonprofit organizations” she said, “tend to provide a scatter gun approach and try to do too many things. By focusing on the kids School on Wheels is successful.” However her first six months with her School on Wheels student were not as successful as she would have liked.

Renee’s student, Alli lives in a homeless shelter with her Dad and she is very anxious and suspicious and at the time did not trust Renee at all. (Renee puts this down to the fact that her student had moved about a lot and many different adults had been in and out of her short life, she was also very worried about food…when and what she would eat next) Every week Renee would follow the same routine, same time, same day even the same snack. Eventually, Alli allowed her to bring strawberries and not grapes one week and they finally turned a fruitful corner! They are great buddies now, Alli loves to be surprised with new foods and Renee loves being her School on Wheels tutor.

Renee also volunteers as a coordinator and matches new tutors with students. “When I successfully match a tutor with a student and see a relationship develop that is one of the best parts of being with School on Wheels.”

Linda Huddle, Regional Coordinator for Ventura County has this to say about Renee:

“Renee has been dedicated to helping School on Wheels students. She has gone beyond expectations of a volunteer to develop positive relationships with the school staff, after school program coordinators, and homeless families to build trust and find ways of helping support families who are homeless.”
Carol Sacher

   Region 3D Tutor of The Month - Carol Sacher began volunteering in Region 3D in January 2009. We went together to meet her student Natalie on two different occasions at the after school program but Natalie and her brother Matthew weren’t there. However, Carol persisted; now she and Natalie have developed a close connection. Because of this, Carol made the effort to locate Natalie after she moved to another part of the county and continues tutoring her. In fact, Carol was instrumental in introducing another School on Wheels tutor to Natalie’s brother after their move. Erin Allen has been a School on Wheels tutor since August 2005. Now the four of them meet each week at a local library.
Although she jokingly calls Natalie “her boss”, Carol has inspired Natalie to challenge herself mentally. Natalie tends to choose books which are easy to read but Carol requires that they read some difficult choices too. Currently, Natalie is reading Swiss Family Robinson with Carol and is so excited by her ability to read this classic.
Erin and Matthew are just getting acquainted ; he looks forward each week to working with Erin. Soon I will share a story from their experience with you. Many of you are doing these same things with your students. Thank you!
David Landsberger

   Region 1, Tutor of the Month—Congratulations to our Tutor of the Month David Landsberger. David has been a very dedicated School on Wheels tutor. He started tutoring his first student Nicolas back in November last year at a shelter in Silverlake called PATH. After Nicolas moved into permanent housing David did not want to end the positive relationship he had built with his student so he continued meeting with him at a library near his home and has been tutoring him ever since. Apart from being a very dedicated tutor David was also our top earner at the Fun Run! Next week David will be starting tutoring with a second child with special education needs at Union Rescue Mission in skid row.

David recently wrote about his experience volunteering for School on Wheels:

“I have been a volunteer tutor for the School on Wheels for almost a year and have found it to be a rewarding experience. The student I am working with is a good kid who, due to a difficult situation, has fallen behind academically. I feel it is incredibly important that someone is there to help him out to make sure that a bright boy who has been presented with many challenges in life doesn’t fall through the cracks. When I’m able to teach him something successfully, I feel that I get as much out of it has he does. I have just agreed to work with a second student and hope that my relationship with this kid will be as good as the relationship I have with the first one.”

Thank you David for everything that you do for your student, and for our program.
Mike Kelley and Jerry Buchanan

   Downtown Learning Center - Tutors of the Month
Congratulations to Mike Kelley and Jerry Buchanan! Mike and Jerry have been exceptionally dedicated and committed to the kids and School on Wheels. Four days a week they come to the Learning Center and work with our students, helping them improve their grades and study habits. Their dedication has made a big difference in many of these children’s lives. There has been a dramatic improvement in some of the kid’s work habits, homework and reading skills due to the commitment and dedication of these two wonderful tutors. The kids really look forward to seeing them and ask for them when they are not around. Thank you so much Mike and Jerry. We truly appreciate your commitment, dedication and genuine efforts in really being here for our students and you are such a big part of our School on Wheels Family and Team. P.S, Happy Halloween!
Why We Volunteer

    - Read about what motivates our tutors to volunteer.
Anna Kemp

   I grew up with my parents taking in Foster and Underprivileged children, and when I was 15 we adopted my sister. During my college years I spent a semester in the inner-city of Chicago getting an Urban Studies minor, and working with the homeless there. I have a huge heart for under-privileged children, and want to be involved in helping any way that I can. – Anna Kemp, Ventura.
Jamie Larson

  
I entered college as an adult and had experienced poverty in my childhood and other difficulties in my adult life. Returning to school and pursuing an education has had a phenomenal impact on the improvement of my self esteem. I would love to have an opportunity to share even the smallest amount of that with a child. Education is so important to providing and equal footing for these young people as they grow into the world! – Jamie Larson, Port Hueneme
Matilde Menjivar

   As a member of the South Bay community, I feel it is my responsibility to help my fellow community members in the best way I can. This program interests me because it deals with two matters very close to my heart: education and children. I believe education is a core element in a successful, model citizen. Education is a ray of hope: it is a means of liberation. With an education these children will have the skills and confidence to better their lives and rise above their current situations. I would love nothing more than to be an encouraging, motivating force that helps produce positive effects in their lives.- Matilde Menjivar
Nicole Louis

   I've lived all of my life with the security of knowing that when the day is done, I'll always have a home to go home to, a meal that awaits me, and the necessary finances to support basic (and often pleasure) expenses. However, my parents, though never without a home, have gone through more than their fair share of financial and provisional uncertainties. They constantly remind me that if not for the education that their parents fought so hard to give to them, life would be much different.

My grandparents gave lifetimes worth of sweat and blood for the one thing that I (and I believe many people) take for granted; and that it is education. So with the education that's been granted to me, I hope to multiply the fruits of my parents' labor to those who need a little help by fighting alongside them in their battle for a chance at something grander; for a future filled with a huge home, excitement and security. I was given that chance and I would love to give that to others as well. Nicole Louis, San Marino
Vanessa

   Vanessa was seven when she became homeless. She was homeless for about three years and spent much of her childhood in poverty. She and her family moved up and down the east coast and eventually settled in Las Vegas, where she and her parents spent many days in Circus Circus parking lots because they had restroom facilities and free parking for their van. There were months when she didn’t go to school and times when she went to several schools in one year. It was difficult to make friends. Kids laughed at her sad clothes. She was deeply embarrassed about the way she lived. But in all that turmoil, she always excelled at school. For her, learning was like eating good food. And she was starving. Vanessa finished high school and college where she earned her Masters in Physics. For her, there was comfort in the defined structure of math. She wanted to find a place where she could contribute her skills for the best possible service, and to finally understand the greatest equation of all: 1 = 1 squared. She started teaching math and science in middle school, knowing firsthand how education can make a difference in a child’s life. Being in a position to help others and to see the results gave her hope. This was especially the case when she was one of our best tutors. After all, who knows better than Vanessa how education can move homeless children beyond their circumstances? Vanessa believes homeless children don’t get the targeted educational support they need. They don’t know how to access resources for help;
Vanessa knows things can be different. She also believes she can change them. So Vanessa is now studying to be an advocacy lawyer for homeless children.