Did you know that there are approximately 2.5 million children who are homeless annually in the United States?
At our 2019 Annual Meeting, we encouraged our members to donate to School on Wheels, a California-based non-profit that aids students by giving them school supplies and tutoring. Together we contributed approximately $5000 in school supplies to the organization.
We spoke to Sinead Chilton, the Marketing Director at School on Wheels, to learn a little bit more about the organization.
School on Wheels was founded in 1993 by Agnes Stevens, a retired school teacher. Stevens had noticed that students who were homeless were behind their peers academically, due to the transient nature of their lives. From there she made it her mission to help as many students as she could by tutoring and donating school supplies.
Now, in 2018, over 3,600 students have been tutored one on one, with 7,000 receiving brand new school supplies. The system of tutoring is set up in pairs, with “bigs and littles,” meeting once a week, in varied locations. From libraries, to community service centers, the tutors at School on Wheels don’t view the varied circumstances of the students as a challenge--rather they embrace it.
The nonprofit encourages students coming from homeless, domestic violence shelters, foster homes and more to enjoy school. They use monetary donations cover the costs of students attending summer school, and creative extracurriculars like ballet and arts.
Their reach is far and wide--they tutor students between the ages of 5-18 years in southern California, and have forayed into online tutoring. This move has developed their work into 24 different states. Their impact is seen in their yearly Los Angeles walk, which attracts over 15,000 volunteers.
AACRAO supports charitable endeavors similar to School on Wheels. Some of the scholarships we offer are for higher education professionals who can’t afford to make it to our Annual Meeting, or to promote diversity in future higher education professionals. You can donate to AACRAO Gives today.
