Big FISH: JABA volunteers tutor at-risk youth

For those interested in making a difference in the life of a child, volunteering to be a part of the Friends in School Helping (FISH) Tutor-Mentor program is one way to achieve this goal. For the past three years, PVCC’s Piedmont Futures and the Jefferson Area Board for Aging (JABA) have partnered to offer tutoring-mentoring opportunities, which have involved 40 PVCC students, faculty and staff. This year there are FISH volunteer opportunities at both Cale and Clark Elementary Schools throughout the school day.

The FISH Program is an intergenerational program focused on helping elementary students who have been identified as “academically at risk” because they are not reading at their grade level, English is their second language, or they just need help in an academic subject like math.

Taking part as a FISH Tutor-Mentor is a great resume builder and way to get practical experience in the classroom. The volunteer commitment is once a week for an hour.

Volunteering can be done a semester at a time. Tutoring is done one-on-one and in small groups. Training is provided and will be held at PVCC in the main building in room 850, on Sept. 14 and Oct. 12 from 12:30 until 1:15 p.m. Participation in only one training session is required. Please RSVP to either PiedmontFutures@pvcc.edu or mdavid@jabacares.org via email for more information and to sign up for a training session.