Emerging Leaders In Giving is made up of people like you: budding professionals motivated to effect big change in the community. Our VISION is to build a future where young professionals are deeply engaged in contributing to the betterment of the community. Our MISSIONis uniting young professionals to promote volunteerism, community awareness, and relationship-building.
For more information about our Emerging Leaders Program click here
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United Way Launches Initiative to Recruit Volunteer Readers, Tutors, and Mentors
Nonprofits and school districts participate in a combined appeal and placement effort.
The evidence is clear - volunteers can pave the way to high school graduation by reading with preschoolers, tutoring students who need extra help, and mentoring young people who need a caring adult in their lives.
A wide range of local organizations - youth-serving non-profits and schools - offer many opportunities to volunteer working with students and youth.
Throughout their school careers, connecting students with as many well trained, supportive adults as possible, both in and out of school, nurtures their strengths and makes sure help is directed where it is most needed.
Readers, tutors, and mentors play an important role in increasing academic success and engagement in learning.
Reading books aloud with children every day not only builds language and pre-literacy skills, but exposes them to new ideas, builds their social/emotional and problem solving skills and inspires them to become lifelong learners.
Tutoring — instructing a child one-on-one or in small groups—has been shown to have positive effects on academic performance, especially with at-risk children experiencing reading problems. The literacy skills and academic supports that children and young people receive through tutoring solidify their efforts toward high school, college and career success.
Mentoring can take a number of forms and include varying goals and outcomes. Community-based mentoring and school-based men¬toring have similar objectives around youth success, achievement and self-esteem. Children and youth learn in many aspects of life, so a community web of social, cultural, education and economic resources should be in place to encourage learning. Both community and school-based mentoring have been shown to improve different outcomes for children and youth.
For United Way of Olmsted County, education is a vital focus area, mobilizing volunteers is a growing core of our mission, and advocacy is a strategy we have increasingly employed. Committing resources to this public awareness campaign to mobilize volunteers in education is an important “next step” in building capacity and supporting the work of youth-serving organizations throughout Olmsted County.
Caring adults working with kids of all ages, from the early years through high school, can help boost academic achievement.