East Central Illinois Refugee Mutual Assistance Center in Urbana – only for students interested in the BAT, not the minor.

The Tutoring Program matches volunteers with adult and K-12 refugee students for tutoring and activities on Saturday mornings.

Prospective tutors should be aware that they need to check in with one of the three co-coordinators (Emily, Jessica, or Antonia) for a short mandatory training the first time they volunteer with the program.  It is mandatory for prospective tutors to be trained appropriately and to fill out an application form that we’ll provide out at that time.”

Unlike last year, we are now requiring our tutors to commit to working with us on a regular weekly basis throughout the entire semester (no more than one unexcused absence allowed, except under extenuating circumstances).

If prospective tutors are unable to make the continued weekly time commitment, they may contact Emily Felker (contact information below) to be put on a list of field trip volunteers in the event that we need additional adults for specific one-time activities away from the usual tutoring site.  We have several field trips each semester, all of which fall during the usual program time (10:00-1:00 Saturday).”

As before, while just about all of our students do speak English, we will likely have a number of Congolese students who are more comfortable using French.  Furthermore, most (if not all) of our students come from families who speak a language other than English at home.  Therefore, this is a particularly relevant tutoring opportunity for UIUC students who are interested in teaching ESL or foreign languages.

Interested students should contact Emily Felker at emilyfelker@gmail.com.