We are looking for adults 50 years and older interested in tutoring K-3 students who are struggling to read.
AARP Foundation Experience Corps OC volunteers – people age 50 and older – help children in kindergarten through third grade learn to read. We provide peer support, mentoring, coaching and ongoing training to help you be successful.
Become a volunteer
- Change lives: You will make a lasting difference for children and schools by building critical literacy skills.
- Make the most of your experience: Your experience, calming presence, and mentoring skills will provide what many of these children may be missing in their lives: someone to listen, care, offer encouragement, serve as a role model… and celebrate success together.
- Support your community and Boys & Girls Clubs of Capistrano Valley’s Club Kids: Experience Corps OC provides literacy tutoring support to children in kindergarten through third grade in Boys & Girls Clubs of Capistrano Valley’s three sites located in San Juan Capistrano, Aliso Viejo, and Rancho Santa Margarita.
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Meet Our Volunteer Heroes
Click below to view our volunteers in action!
What is the AARP Foundation Experience Corps volunteer program model?
Experience Corps sites across the country have built a strong partnership with school districts and principals. Experience Corps works with schools and after-school programs in which a majority of students are reading below grade level. In Orange County, we operate ECOC in Boys & Girls Clubs’ after-school programs.
- Highly trained volunteer tutors assist students two days a week throughout the school year,
- one-on-one or in small groups
- 30-minute literacy support sessions.
- Tutors provide up to three thirty-minute sessions twice weekly.
How is AARP Foundation Experience Corps different from other tutoring programs?
Experience Corps specifically recruits adults who are 50+ years of age to be tutors. We believe that by making full use of the wealth of work experiences, life experiences, skills, and abilities of our volunteers, children, schools and the community benefit.
- Our volunteers are praised for their consistency, dedication, and reliability.
- On-going training and support of our volunteers is another key component of the program.
Who are AARP Foundation Experience Corps volunteers?
Our volunteers are the centerpiece of the Experience Corps program. They are truly local heroes, women, and men devoting up to 5 hours each week for an entire school year to assist struggling students in their community.
- They come with a wealth of different work and life experiences and have education backgrounds ranging from High School to advanced degrees.
- Volunteer tutors also benefit from increased socialization with peers,
- are happier and healthier than adults who do not choose to volunteer.
What type of training does a tutor receive?
Volunteer tutors receive a minimum of 25 hours of training, prior to and during the school year. Since the program focus is on early literacy skills for kindergarten through third grades much of the training centers on reading fluency and comprehension skills utilizing accompanying activities and materials.
Volunteer tutors also are trained in:
- child development,
- tutoring strategies,
- behavior management,
- and other skills important to their success with students.
