Experience Corps
Experience Corps® offers new adventures in service for Americans over 55. Now in 13 cities, Experience Corps works to solve serious social problems, beginning with literacy. Today more than 1,500 Corps members serve as tutors and mentors to children in urban public schools and after-school programs, where they help teach children to read and develop the confidence and skills to succeed in school and in life. Experience Corps uncovers the positive aspects of an aging society by showing that growing numbers of older Americans can be tapped to strengthen underserved communities.
Achievements
Last year, Experience Corps members put in 290,000 hours serving 14,250 students in more than 100 schools. Rigorous research done by scientists at Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions shows that Experience Corps members are boosting student reading skills and improving student behavior, while improving their own mental and physical health. Surveys of hundreds of principals and teachers show that Experience Corps substantially improves student academic performance, increases students’ readiness to learn, and positively affects students’ self-confidence and attitude toward school. Expansion efforts in five cities are on schedule, with Experience Corps Philadelphia, for example, now topping 500 members.
Goals
Experience Corps works to boost student academic achievement, strengthen ties between schools and surrounding neighborhoods, and enhance the well-being of its members in the process. Experience Corps is expanding dramatically in five of its 13 cities (New York, Cleveland, Philadelphia, Boston, and Washington DC) to demonstrate that the program can be brought successfully to scale.
Moving forward, Experience Corps will continue to work to prove the program’s efficacy, expand to scale in five cities, launch projects in several new cities, and boost public recognition of the positive aspects of an aging America.
Contact Information
Stefanie Weiss
Director of Communications
Experience Corps
2120 L St., N.W., Suite 400
Washington, DC 20037
Phone: (202) 478-6151
Fax: (202) 478-6162
Email: sweiss@experiencecorps.org
Web: www.experiencecorps.org