For Love of Children\u2019s Volunteers Amaze Me!<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"For Love of Children\u2019s Volunteers Amaze Me!\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Last month, I had the opportunity to speak at For Love of Children\u2019s annual Recognition event, which recognizes the outstanding achievements of our students.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/floc.org\/flocold2020\/for-love-of-childrens-volunteers-amaze-me\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"FLOC-For the Love of Children\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2009-07-27T04:54:31+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2018-10-04T05:19:43+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\">\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"StaffFloc\">\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\">\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\">\n","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/floc.org\/flocold2020\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3331"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/floc.org\/flocold2020\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/floc.org\/flocold2020\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/floc.org\/flocold2020\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/floc.org\/flocold2020\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3331"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/floc.org\/flocold2020\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3331\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3361,"href":"https:\/\/floc.org\/flocold2020\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3331\/revisions\/3361"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/floc.org\/flocold2020\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3331"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/floc.org\/flocold2020\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3331"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/floc.org\/flocold2020\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3331"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}} Fatal error: Uncaught Error: Call to undefined function wp_get_inline_script_tag() in /home/floc/www/www/flocold2020/wp-content/plugins/gravityforms/includes/libraries/class-dom-parser.php:145 Stack trace: #0 /home/floc/www/www/flocold2020/wp-content/plugins/gravityforms/includes/libraries/class-dom-parser.php(161): Gravity_Forms\Gravity_Forms\Libraries\Dom_Parser->get_scripts() #1 /home/floc/www/www/flocold2020/wp-content/plugins/gravityforms/includes/libraries/class-dom-parser.php(76): Gravity_Forms\Gravity_Forms\Libraries\Dom_Parser->remove_script() #2 /home/floc/www/www/flocold2020/wp-content/plugins/gravityforms/gravityforms.php(7053): Gravity_Forms\Gravity_Forms\Libraries\Dom_Parser->__construct('{"id":3331,"dat...') #3 [internal function]: GFForms::ensure_hook_js_output('{"id":3331,"dat...', 9) #4 /home/floc/www/www/flocold2020/wp-includes/functions.php(4669): ob_end_flush() #5 /home/floc/www/www/flocold2020/wp-includes/class-wp-hook.php(287): wp_ob_end_flush_all('') #6 /home/floc/www/www/flocold2020/wp-includes/cl in /home/floc/www/www/flocold2020/wp-content/plugins/gravityforms/includes/libraries/class-dom-parser.php on line 145

{"id":3331,"date":"2009-07-27T04:54:31","date_gmt":"2009-07-27T04:54:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/floc.org\/?p=3331"},"modified":"2018-10-04T05:19:43","modified_gmt":"2018-10-04T05:19:43","slug":"for-love-of-childrens-volunteers-amaze-me","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/floc.org\/flocold2020\/for-love-of-childrens-volunteers-amaze-me\/","title":{"rendered":"For Love of Children\u2019s Volunteers Amaze Me!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last month, I had the opportunity to speak at\u00a0For Love of Children\u2019s annual Recognition event<\/a>, which recognizes the outstanding achievements of our students. We celebrated the positive strides\u00a0they have made in building and pursuing their dreams. We acknowledged the volunteers and partners who have been instrumental in aiding this process.<\/p>\n

As I looked out into the audience, I was inspired by what I saw. I saw students with aspirations of academic excellence. I saw leaders who have served their communities and who will continue to make positive changes in our world. I saw mothers, fathers, aunts, uncles, grandparents and friends who teach, support and guide us all through our life journeys. I saw individuals who give their time and energy so that we all may grow stronger.<\/p>\n

Volunteers are an integral part of our organization. They are tutors, guest speakers,\u00a0 Career Day hosts,<\/a>\u00a0test preparation experts, pro-bono consultants, IT specialists, community leaders and so much more.\u00a0 They are the people who make an incredible difference in the students we serve; they are the lifeblood of our organization.<\/p>\n

Sitting in the third row that night was Tiesha and her tutor Samantha.\u00a0 Like so many of the students who attend DC Public Schools, Tiesha had fallen behind.\u00a0 It shouldn\u2019t be a huge surprise, last year 92% of DC 8^{th<\/sup>\u00a0graders were below their grade level in math.\u00a0 But Tiesha, like all 300 of the students who participate in our\u00a0}Neighborhood Tutoring Program<\/a>, was brimming with potential.<\/p>\n

Her tutor, Samantha, committed every week to help us provide support to Tiesha through our structured, consistent educational programming.\u00a0 But more than that, Samantha made the commitment to care.\u00a0 You see, some of our volunteers are tutors, which means at times they teach, but they also listen, they serve as role models, and as friends. They are thoughtful, creative and dedicated to encouraging our students to continue to learn, grow, and accomplish great things.<\/p>\n

This year, after 22 hours of tutoring, Tiesha made 1 year and 1 month improvement in her math ability.\u00a0 As she moves into 5^{th<\/sup>\u00a0grade, Tiesha is one step closer to where she needs to be.\u00a0 With each volunteer who becomes a tutor in our program, we are able to give one more student the chance to experience that unique opportunity.<\/p>\n}

But not all of our volunteers choose to be tutors.\u00a0 In the fifth row of the audience that night was Jean.\u00a0<\/strong>She was responsible\u00a0<\/strong>for facilitating a cultural exchange between FLOC\u00a0Leaders in the Making<\/a>\u00a0students (our program for middle school students) and children orphaned by AIDS in Nairobi, Kenya. For several months, Jean and her organization,\u00a0 Children\u2019s Cultural Connection<\/a>, worked directly with our student leaders to teach them about global issues and Kenyan culture. Throughout the course of the project, students made photo journals; read stories; played Kenyan games; learned about the AIDS epidemic in Africa; about poverty, hunger and inequality. Volunteers like Jean help us open students\u2019 eyes to the world that extends beyond the geographical boundaries of their neighborhoods.\u00a0 They empower our students with the knowledge and experience to give back to the benefit of others.<\/p>\n

In the back row was Ned.\u00a0 Since 1999, Ned has provided the services of his company,\u00a0 PrepMatters<\/a>, and their intensive ACT, SAT and standardized test preparation resources to our\u00a0 Educational Guidance and Advocacy<\/a>\u00a0program.\u00a0 Ned\u2019s service to FLOC has included more than 40 hours of instruction, more than 9 full-length proctored practice tests each year; support that would have cost each of our students more than $4,000.\u00a0 We celebrate the 13 students who have graduated high school on time, and send them off to post-secondary institutions across the country with more than $150,000 in scholarships; thanks in large part to the gracious support of people like Ned who help us transform lives.<\/p>\n

Ed was also in the room that night.\u00a0 Like several of our corporate partners, Ed gives his time and that of his company,\u00a0 TerpSys<\/a>, as a pro-bono consultant, as an expert in his field. They share uncomplicated ideas that come naturally, and they often don\u2019t realize that what was so easy for them would have probably taken our staff a few days or weeks to work through on our own. \u00a0\u00a0Ed is one of my kitchen cabinet friends.<\/p>\n

I like to dabble with cooking, and every once in a while I need to reach in the back of the cabinet for that one special ingredient, the cream of tartar.\u00a0 That one spice that I don\u2019t need everyday, but is always there when I just have to use it.\u00a0 I often think of these partners in the same vain.\u00a0 We don\u2019t see them everyday, but when we face a challenge, we know where to reach.<\/p>\n

Ed\u2019s company has been an instrumental member of FLOC\u2019s community for years, from providing oversight, technical and managerial support to developing the FLOC website and technology infrastructure, to donating hundreds of gifts for our children and families each Holiday season. Ed\u2019s company provides high quality IT services at no cost. This means that funds that would otherwise be spent on IT support can now be spent on developing FLOC programs. Between their pro-bono and financial support, this amazing company has given more than $60,000 in support in the last two years alone.\u00a0 Beyond that, they were a part of our first ever Shadow Day and facilitated career exploration by hosting some of our high school students to learn more about the IT industry.\u00a0 When I ask Ed for help, he is quick to respond, \u201cWe\u2019re here to help.\u00a0 You go do what you know best\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

We know how to teach, how to empower, and how to transform lives.\u00a0 We know that service means something different to every person, but every person has the ability to serve.\u00a0 When I looked out at the audience last week, I saw in that moment the one thing I know the most \u2014 our volunteers are what make all of our success possible.<\/p>\n

\u2013 Tim Payne<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"