Posts Tagged ‘tutors’

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Name: Sara Penn

Hometown: New Haven, CT

College and Major: Albertus Magnus College, Class of 2023; Sociology

Tutor Site: Science Park Clubs: Math, Arts & Crafts, Performing Arts

Favorite Children’s Book: The Divergent Series

I was familiar with New Haven Reads before I started this internship. I volunteered at New Haven Reads during my senior year of high school to fulfill my community service hours. During the couple months of volunteering here, I worked in the Pre-K and Kindergarten program assisting the students one day a week. I didn’t know the full extent of what other opportunities New Haven Reads had other than tutoring students until I started working at Literacy Volunteers and saw their tutoring programs during the school year. Being a summer intern here has given me the opportunity to see just how much is actually going on, and to be a part of it.

This summer I have been involved with Math, Arts & Crafts and Performing Arts enrichment clubs. In the beginning, I was kind of nervous to do these clubs, but throughout these past couple weeks running them, they have been easier than I expected them to be. Seeing the students’ faces light up when we start lights up my whole experience working with them, making this experience so much better. Having the help from other tutors and also the site team has helped me a lot and I’m grateful for them being there.

The students make the whole experience great. In the beginning, it took some time for the students to get to know me and get to know them. Throughout these weeks, I’ve developed bonds with the students I’m tutoring, running the clubs, and co-leading clubs because they see you every time you work with them and you get to know who they are and I share so many laughs with them. I get so excited coming in to work with the students and working with other tutors because you see so many backgrounds of tutors and students and it just makes this whole experience great. I also appreciate the site team at Science Park for making me feel at home and being there every step of the way, thank you guys.

I want to thank KeyBank for giving me the chance to be a part of all the amazing things that are happening at New Haven Reads. I’ve absolutely loved my time here; I would be honored to come back again and possibly work at New Haven Reads and continue tutoring to change the lives of the students in New Haven.

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Name: Owen Lamothe
Hometown: Hamden,  CT 
College and Major: Middlebury College, Arabic and International Politics and Economics 
Tutoring Site: Bristol Street
Clubs: Chess and Math
Favorite Childhood Book: Goosebumps Series by R.L. Stine

When I first walked into the Bristol Street site on January 31st, 2019, to interview as part of the process to be a tutor, I would never have expected that I would have the opportunity 3 years later to experience all that New Haven Reads has to offer. I was a busy high school freshman who could only come into tutor 1 hour a week, and for that small window of time, I always took the chance to observe the staff, tutors, students, parents, and everyone in between all coming together to learn and have a blast while doing it. This feeling remained constant throughout my three years at Willow Street. When I found out about the KeyBank Summer Intern position, I jumped at the chance to join the community in a larger role.

My favorite part of the summer so far has been leading and helping with the Bristol Street summer clubs. New Haven Reads is a community of learners, no matter what role everyone plays. When I lead the chess club, I’m surrounded by eager chess students and volunteer helpers that bring a lot of chess experience to the club. Every meeting people meet each other where they’re at and we have so much fun playing chess, getting to know each other through icebreakers, and beating the heat inside at the chessboard. As someone who is passionate about language learning, I had a really meaningful day on July 20th, when I had to put my Arabic skills to the test to help translate information about the Vision to Learn program. In moments like these, being a KeyBank Intern at New Haven Reads allows me to interact with many members of the amazing greater-New Haven community and for that I am extremely grateful.

It is amazing to be back in-person with New Haven Reads this summer! Every day when I walk into the Bristol Street site I can sense the same sense of enthusiasm amongst everyone there. I am so lucky to be able to dive deeper into this community and help support our students in having a fun and productive summer. Thank you to the entire New Haven Reads organization and community for this opportunity. I also sincerely appreciate KeyBank for this internship opportunity. Thank you and have a great rest of the summer!

 

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We were so happy to welcome Governor Ned Lamont and Senator Gary Winfield to New Haven Reads today! They talked with students in our tutoring program and in our Arts and Crafts Club. We appreciated the opportunity to discuss how NHR is addressing the impact of the pandemic on student learning and well-being. 

Read more about the Governor and Senator’s visit here. 

 

 

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Ruth Beardsley has been involved with NHR since joining us as tutor in 2009.
Over her 13 years as a tutor, Ruth has helped over 20 students increase their literacy skills with hundreds of hours of tutoring.
 
Ruth joined the Board in 2016 and became President in 2019 for a three year term which ended this month. We have benefitted tremendously from her leadership, expertise, and support! As Board President, Ruth played a fundamental part in guiding New Haven Reads through the pandemic so we could continue to offer highly impactful program all within our mission of sharing “the joy and power of reading”. Ruth has been a dedicated and thoughtful Board president.

Ruth and her student Throne

While Ruth is saying goodbye to being on our Board, she will continue to be a tutor and will serve on a couple committees. We are extremely grateful to her for all her terrific years of Board service and are glad that she will continue to be part of our New Haven Reads family

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Marty has been volunteering with New Haven Reads  for about 7 years. Marty decided to start volunteering after hearing about NHR  through the Yale Club of New Haven. To him, New Haven Reads sounded like a very rewarding program. He spent three years volunteering at our Dixwell location before becoming a tutor at our Willow Street location.

Marty has worked with many different students over the years. When asked what keeps him coming back to NHR, Marty responded with “the amazing feedback that I get from the students.”

Marty’s favorite book is Catch 22, while as a child, his favorite book was The Jungle Book. 

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Posted in Volunteer Spotlight

Helena has been tutoring at Bristol Street and online for about 4 years. She began her journey at New Haven Reads in the spring of 2018. “I wanted to give back to the community and I was excited to do so through reading, an activity that I love pursuing myself,” says Helena. 

Helena’s passion for giving back to the community through reading is what attracted her to New Haven Reads. It has been her experiences with the amazing kids at New Haven Reads that keep her coming back over the years. Helena describes a time that she has discovered a shared interest with a student. “The student I tutor is a bright kid with a passion for animals and science in general.” Helena, a PhD candidate in neuroscience, says she enjoys explaining things in a kid-friendly way and sharing scientific knowledge. 

When asked what her favorite book was, as a child and now, she responded by making note of her love for Harry Potter books or anything fantasy. As a child, Helena spent hours reading them secretly at night when she was supposed to be sleeping. Currently, she still enjoys reading fantasy and sci-fi, but has expanded her reading interests into other novels and literature.

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Isabella has been a volunteer at Bristol Street for eight months. She began her journey at New Haven Reads as an intern for her Psychology program at the University of New Haven. “I chose New Haven Reads because I love working with kids and I knew it would be a rewarding experience. I couldn’t have been happier with my choice!” says Isabella. 

While at New Haven Reads, Isabella has displayed her versatility. In addition to tutoring, she has also been frequently sought out to translate newsletters and phone calls for our Spanish speaking families. Describing this experience, she explains that “it was nerve-wracking at first because I am not completely confident in my Spanish, especially when taking phone calls. After a while, I learned that it was irrelevant whether I spoke flawless Spanish or not. Instead, what matters is that I am assisting these families in getting the most out of their New Haven Reads experience. I am aware that many families who work with New Haven Reads do so in their native language. I believe I am assisting those families and the program in communicating more effectively.” 

When we asked Isabella what keeps her coming back, she responded with her reason being because “I wanted to keep the bond as well as the progress I created with my students. I couldn’t bear to miss out on watching as their skills grow.” 

When Isabella was a child, Number the Stars was her favorite book. Her favorite book today is The Help. The books that move her while providing insight into real life issues are her favorite reads. 

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Posted in Blog, Volunteer Spotlight

April is Volunteer Appreciation month! Our volunteers are the heart and soul of New Haven Reads. We are sharing some of our volunteer spotlights to help celebrate! 

Check out a few of our past spotlights and stay tuned for our Spring picks!

Click here to view our Volunteer Spotlight Page

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Written by: Isaiah Cunningham, NHR Tutor and intern.

New Haven Reads is showing their gratitude and appreciation to the volunteers who have continuously supported New Haven Reads and our goal of developing a community of confident readers and expanding book access.

“We at New Haven Reads are so thankful to have such dedicated and involved tutors and volunteers. We are elated to have this opportunity to thank them for their time and effort”, says Fernanda Franco, Outreach Director at New Haven Reads. New Haven Reads is a non-profit organization that relies heavily on volunteers. Our volunteers are our heart and soul of New Haven Reads and we are honored to have them be a part of our team. Therefore, we are awarding navy blue fleece jackets with the New Haven Reads logo on the left chest area to our volunteers with three or more years of service. “I absolutely love the idea of providing volunteers with fleece jackets. These volunteers provide an invaluable service to the community, and it feels wonderful to see their efforts recognized for it,” says Aimee Curtis-Travaglini, Bristol Site Director.

New Haven Reads is always looking for ways to recognize the contributions of our volunteers. Volunteer support is integral to our success, and we’re proud to give them the recognition they deserve. If you are interested in becoming a volunteer with New Haven Reads, please click on the link here.

 

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New Haven Reads is currently offering our programs remotely due to the rise in Covid-19 cases. We are seeking volunteers to help tutor our students online. If you or someone you know may be interested please fill out the application here or email volunteer@test.newhavenreads.org for more information. 

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