Oasis Tutoring Recruitment

Oasis Tutoring Recruitment
Posted on 09/07/2022

Reading Volunteers Needed for Mexico School District and the Mexico Area Family YMCA
By: Mandy Plybon, Oasis Tutoring RSVP Coordinator

 Are you 50 or over? Have you been looking for a way to give back to your community? Mexico needs you!

“A little progress each day adds to great results. Our Oasis tutors are enhancing the lives of our students they work with at McMillan Early Learning Center. It is great to see the confidence flourish in the students who receive the one-on-one tutoring. We are very thankful for the Oasis organization.”

– Dr. Anne Billington, Principal, McMillan Early Learning Center

Mexico School District and the Mexico Area Family YMCA are continuing their partnerships with Oasis Institute to offer Oasis Tutoring, a volunteer program. Focused on enriching lives of adults aged 50+, Oasis Tutoring promotes intergenerational mentoring by pairing an older adult volunteer with a K-3rd grade student for the school year.

Two volunteer opportunities are available:

We’ll kick off our in-person reading mentor program with Mexico School District on October 17th, 2022. There’s nothing like face-to-face when building a mentoring relationship. Volunteers will work with one student once a week throughout the school year (October-May). Training, books, and volunteer materials are provided. Volunteer training for the 2022-2023 school year will be Tuesday, September 13th 9 AM-2 PM at the central office. Lunch is provided. A background check is required.

Our YMCA program will also be in-person during their after-school program. Once a week, 4-5 PM, volunteers will work with two students throughout the school year. This program is set to begin October 3rd, 2022. A training date has not been set yet. But, same as above, training, books, and materials are provided to our volunteers. A background screening is required.

We ask that people register to attend the trainings, so we make sure we have plenty of materials (and lunch!). Contact Mandy Plybon, Oasis Tutoring Volunteer Coordinator, to let her know you plan on coming. If the training date doesn’t work with your plans, let her know. You can email Mandy at [email protected] or call/text her at 573-416-3193.

You may be asking yourself…

What if I want to do both programs? – We’ll take you!

What if I want to work with more than one student? – You can!

I wonder if my friend would be interested. – Tell them! Help us spread the word.

Did you know that Oasis Tutoring is part of a national non-profit organization? Oasis Institute was founded in 1982 in St. Louis, Missouri by Marylen Mann. After spending a day in church basements visiting with older adults as they made crafts, played bingo, and sat idly around the rooms-although the centers were meeting important basic needs, Mann saw a world of potential going to waste. Why should the people in these centers, who had raised families and held productive jobs, have such limited opportunities as they aged? At the end of the tour, she told the commissioner, “We can do better for older adults.”

Marylen spent more time in senior centers, talking with older adults and center directors. In starting Oasis 40 years ago, Marylen defied what was then the conventional wisdom about older adults-that they were finished making their contribution to their families and civic life and that inevitably they would grow increasingly infirm and dependent on others for their needs.

40 years later, Oasis is still defying that notion and has grown exponentially, active in over 250 communities and reaches more than 50,000 individuals across the country each year. This is what sets us apart from others.

Oasis makes becoming and staying active convenient, easy, and fun by offering innovative programs to satisfy curiosity and expand interests. Fun fact! Our Callaway County community is part of the St. Louis Oasis center. Visit https://st-louis.oasisnet.org/ to view the spring program catalog. Many classes are offered online through the zoom platform. Now, anyone, anywhere, can take part in these fulfilling classes. If you are 50+ are looking for ways to engage your body and mind, I encourage you to check it out.

For those interested in tutoring or have questions about Oasis Institute’s other opportunities, contact Mandy Plybon, Oasis Tutoring RSVP Coordinator (Audrain & Callaway Counties), at [email protected] or 573-416-3193 (call/text).