Kick Off 2017 the ‘Write’ Way by Joining the WriterCoach Connection Volunteer Program! By Jeremy Judson, WriterCoach Connection Volunteer You survived the never-ending election season, put away your holiday decorations, and maybe even joined a gym to make good on your New Year’s resolution to slim down. But you wonder how you can more fully connect with your community, stretch yourself as a person, and help others be productive members of our community. Have you considered joining your friends and neighbors in becoming a volunteer writer coach for WriterCoach Connection? What is WriterCoach Connection? WriterCoach Connection is a 650-strong volunteer writer coach program that helps middle- and high school students raise their writing proficiency, improve critical thinking skills, and build academic confidence. Many of these students come from backgrounds in which their parents face serious challenges in helping their kids with schoolwork, such as long work hours, limited formal education, and low English-language competence. The need to encourage these students is real, which is why the organization serves five schools in the West Contra Costa Unified School District (El Cerrito High School; 58 MARKETPLACECONTRACOSTA.COM JANUARY 2017 Volunteer writer coach, Sydnee Tyson, helps Braveheart Zantua with an English assignment at El Cerrito High School. Lovonya DeJean Middle School; Richmond High School; Kennedy High School and Korematsu Middle School). Becoming a writer coach is easy. You can apply online at the WriterCoach Connection website, or speak to a recruiter at one of the many community events—such as the Richmond Main Street Initiative “Music on the Main” summer concert series—where there are kiosks staffed by the program’s employees and volunteer coaches. “I was wandering down the street at an art festival in Oakland called ‘Art & Soul’ when somebody said, ‘Hey, do you want to help kids in our public schools work on their writing skills?’” explains Jennifer Fritz, a former volunteer coach who now coordinates the Pamela Gilbert-Snyder and Sharon Shannon recruit for WriterCoach Connection at El Cerrito’s July 4 World One Festival. ““There’s no other place I’ve found where I can go in and meet a complete stranger and have a pretty interesting conversation with this 15-year-old person who is the future of the community I live in. It’s just really life affirming.” — Jennifer Fritz, WriterCoach Connection Site Coordinator, John F. Kennedy High School
Contra Costa Marketplace - Jan 2017
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