When he decided to volunteer as a tutor with the Oasis Intergenerational Tutoring program in 2013, Gerald Johnson knew that children would be getting a boost with their reading.

But he has discovered that so much more happens when a child and a caring adult spend some time together, one-on-one.

“I learn from kids, and I get energy from being around them,” says Gerald. “As much as tutoring helps these kids with reading, it’s not all about reading. The kids are inquisitive, and a lot of times they don’t have someone they can talk to about certain things, so they ask me.”

From recruited to recruiting

Gerald learned about the program from his wife, Geraldine, who has been tutoring for eight years.

 “She said to me a couple of times, ‘this is something you ought to think about,’ and so I did.”  

Gerald now works on recruiting others into the program. In the mornings, he works as a courtesy driver for Dobbs Tire and Auto Centers.  As he was dropping off one of his customers recently, they passed McKelvey Elementary School, where Gerald volunteers. He talked about the tutoring program and now that person has become an Oasis tutor.

He is especially committed to recruiting more men into the tutoring program.

“Young boys and girls need to see more male figures that are caring and who are interested in their well-being.”

Gerald worked with four young boys last year and has three new young friends this year. A seasoned tutor, he knows how special these relationships can be.

“I become more than a reading tutor – I am also their mentor and their friend.”

A program of distinction

Gerald is one 4,500 volunteers nationwide working with the Oasis Intergenerational Tutoring program, which pairs children in grades K-3 who need support with older adults who have been trained to use a proven approach to literacy that emphasizes reading, talking and writing. The program is one of six intergenerational programs selected to receive the prestigious 2017 Generations United Programs of Distinction award.

“Achieving this recognition is a major accomplishment,” says Donna Butts, executive director of Generations United. “It says a program employs best practices and effectively engages the young and old while serving the surrounding community.”

Generations United launched the Program of Distinction designation in 2010 to recognize excellence while celebrating the rich diversity among intergenerational programs. Since then, 32 such programs have been selected. Programs of Distinction are selected based on evidence-based standards for quality programming, such as preparing participants, staff training, partner engagement and evaluation.

This is the second Program of Distinction designation received by Oasis. CATCH Healthy Habits, an evidence-based Oasis intergenerational health program, was named a Program of Distinction in 2014.

To learn more about Oasis tutoring, visit www.oasistutoring.org.

After 20 years as an Oasis tutor, Estelle Rosen keeps at it for one good reason: she knows she’s needed.

She discovered this with the help of a little girl named Chelsea, who still cherishes their special bond after all these years.

It’s been a long time since Chelsea Shea was in the first grade. She is married now, and a recent college graduate with her sights set on being a teacher, but she does remember what it felt like to be a little girl struggling to do something that seemed so easy for everyone else: reading.

“I was so frustrated,” she recalls. “I couldn’t figure it out.”

The stumbling took Chelsea by surprise. She’d always loved being read to by adults, and kindergarten had been so fun. But when it came time to start trying to read on her own, things weren’t so fun anymore.

Then along came Mrs. Rosen.

A tutor with the Oasis Intergenerational Tutoring Program, Estelle Rosen, also known to many friends and family as Alene, came to Rose Acres Elementary School, in Maryland Heights, Missouri, once a week with one priority: spending time with Chelsea to get her up to speed on reading.

Looking back, Chelsea is not sure she can pinpoint exactly the first day she and Estelle met, but she does remember certain days, certain moments from that school year. Success didn’t happen overnight. There were moments of frustration, which were met with a remedy that just about any child might need once in awhile.

“Mrs. Rosen always seemed to know when we needed a brain break,” recalls Chelsea. “One day, we just went outside and jumped rope. I was tickled pink.”

Eventually there was a breakthrough, and that moment, for Chelsea, will never be forgotten.

“I remember sitting there listening to Mrs. Rosen read a book, and then reading it aloud to myself. I remember feeling this sense of joy and thinking to myself, ‘I can read this book!’ I felt a sense of accomplishment. Reading didn’t feel as impossible as it had before.”

The book was Pancakes for Breakfast, by Tomie dePaola. “He is still one of my favorite children’s authors,” she says.

As the school year came to a close, Estelle’s mission was accomplished. Chelsea had gained the confidence she needed to keep progressing on her own. It was time to think about the next year and the next child. But Estelle knew Chelsea had changed her forever.

Along came Chelsea

By the time she met Chelsea, Estelle was already committed to tutoring, having worked with two other children.

“My first student was a little boy,” she says. “This worked out well because as the mother of three sons, I was familiar with boys. The second child was a blue-eyed blonde. She was so smart and funny.”

Then there was Chelsea.

“We just clicked. Chelsea was the child that demonstrated what I believe the ideal tutoring experience should be,” Estelle says. “This precious child really wanted to be with me, and often didn’t want to go back to the classroom. I would have to be the adult and insist, but I always said, ‘Chelsea, I am coming to back to see you next week.’ We really didn’t want to part.”

Like many Oasis tutors, Estelle was drawn to the program because she likes children and wanted to give something back by volunteering. She was not expecting to be on the receiving end of the relationship.

“It was hard for me to get up and down the stairs,” recalls Estelle. “I’ll never forget when Chelsea said to me, ‘Can I hold your hand?’ I encouraged her and she encouraged me. We formed such a wonderful friendship.”

A lasting impression

Chelsea went on to second grade, and Estelle to another student, but the two never lost touch.

“We just really had a connection,” says Chelsea. “That connection made all the difference. Mrs. Rosen has always felt like a second grandma to me. We communicated mostly through letters, and she would make me little gifts. My parents’ house was right behind the school, where she was still tutoring, and sometimes my mother would arrange for short little visits.”

Estelle was invited to milestones, like an honor society event and high school graduation, even Chelsea’s wedding. Estelle couldn’t make the ceremony, but Chelsea made sure to drop by, bringing a special wedding bouquet to celebrate the occasion with her special friend.

To both, the connection and the inclusion seem natural. These days, the two stay connected with frequent letters and regular phone calls, as Chelsea now lives in North Dakota with her husband. When they come home over the holidays, a visit to Estelle is always on the itinerary.

“It is my privilege to know such a beautiful young woman,” says Estelle. “She has brightened my life, and I think I have brightened hers.”

Chelsea graduated from Minot State University, in Minot, North Dakota, where she lives with her husband. She has a degree in elementary education, with a concentration in reading and kindergarten.

“I always felt that I was going to be a teacher, that I was called by God to work with kids in some way,” says Chelsea. “I would be happy even if I could impact just one child like Mrs. Rosen did for me—she taught me how to read!”

Seeing the connection between volunteering and health

Estelle did growing and changing of her own over time as well, perfecting her craft as a tutor.

“I never give up on a child. I try to discover topics that I think they will like. I’ve learned over the years how important it is to just listen to them.”

“Chelsea was very special,” she says. “My experience with this child motivated me to keep going with all the other children I have come to know, even though I didn’t always feel great some of the time. I bring my enthusiasm to work with each child and I get there and focus on them.”

Estelle’s motivation to stay healthy and active, so that she could keep volunteering is not unique. In fact, a recent study published in Social Science and Medicine found that Americans 50+ who volunteered were more likely to get flu shots, mammograms and other health screenings than those who didn’t volunteer. Another study found older adults who volunteer have lower mortality rates and higher life satisfaction.

At 84, Estelle has no plans to stop tutoring anytime soon.

“I don’t think we ever outgrow the need to love someone and have that person love you back,” she says.

Estelle is one of nearly 5,000 Oasis tutors working in 19 U.S. cities today. Since 1989, Oasis Intergenerational Tutoring has reached more than 444,000 children. Inspiring more adults to get involved. To learn more, visit Oasisnet.org/Tutoring.

Oasis is proud to partner with Generation to Generation, a national campaign that aims to mobilize one million adults age 50+ over the next five years to support young people. The campaign was launched in 2016 by Encore.org, a national nonprofit that advocates “second acts for the greater good.”

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Oasis tutor Betty Dotson has been reading good books with children for quite some time, but she recently had the opportunity to explore the meaning of a story a little more deeply with a second grader named Trenedy. Together, the two took a trip back in time, a history lesson came alive and the intergenerational nature of their relationship took on a whole new meaning.

They read “Following the Drinking Gourd,” a book by Jeanette Winter that tells the story of how slaves risked their lives to reach freedom by taking the Underground Railroad. And then Betty was able to share her own family’s rich history, including the true story of Lyles Station, an early African-American farming settlement in southwestern Indiana. Her family’s ties with slavery several generations back were something she was happy to share, as they created a journal that melded Trenedy’s writing and drawings with Betty’s family photos.

“Trenedy seemed most fascinated about the Underground Railroad, how people had to travel to freedom,” says Betty. “They didn’t bring a suitcase and had to live off what they could find to eat.”

More than 70 other tutors and their students also created journals throughout the year-long Bicentennial Bi-Generational Project, celebrating the 2016 Indiana Bicentennial. With funding from the Indiana Humanities and Hoover Family Foundation, the project provided tutors and students some interesting glimpses into the state’s history.

“This project allowed us to purchase select books to integrate the study of U.S. and Indiana history, families and culture into the traditional Intergenerational Tutoring Program with great success,” says Mary Dorney, Executive Director of the Indianapolis Oasis. “The goal of the project was to help children and their tutors see that they and their families will be the threads of the fabric woven into our history another 100 years from now.”

More than 500 Oasis tutors are volunteering in the Indianapolis area, providing weekly tutoring throughout the school year to hundreds of children in grades K-3 who need additional support. Nationally, more than 5,000 tutors serve in 20 U.S. cities. For more information about Oasis Intergenerational Tutoring visit https://tutoring.oasisnet.org/.

Oasis is a foundation partner with Generation to Generation, a new national campaign that aims to mobilize one million adults age 50+ over the next five years to support young people. To learn more, visit http://generationtogeneration.org/.

Thirty years in advertising armed retiree Martha Murphy with a skill that comes in pretty handy in her role as an Oasis tutor: Know your customer.

“I think I’m an eight-year-old at heart,” says Murphy, who has gotten pretty good at relating to third graders by identifying common ground first thing. “It’s about bringing what we’re passionate about to the table, and using that to relate to kids. My kids know that I love dogs, so I use that as a conversation starter.”

The Oasis Intergenerational Tutoring program pairs children in grades K-3 who need support with older adults who have been trained to use a proven approach to literacy that emphasizes reading, talking and writing.

Murphy wasn’t sure she was right for the job in the beginning, but four years and seven third graders later, she knows she is right where she belongs. She comes to Remington School, in the suburban St. Louis Pattonville District, twice a week, ready to do the important work of getting children excited about coming to school and feeling like they can be successful.

“Every kid has strength, and if you can help them find that, it’s a good thing,” she says, pointing out that the whole experience isn’t so bad for the tutor, either. “Being an Oasis tutor is a pure, unadulterated joy of my life.”

An integral resource for schools

Dr. Mike Fulton, who serves as superintendent for the Pattonville School District, points out how integral Oasis tutors have become as a resource in the schools.

“Teachers can actually choose to participate with Oasis tutors. In our district, most do, and say they love  getting the help,” says Fulton. “They like that their students are getting some one-on-one help that they might not be getting anywhere else in their lives.”

As he makes rounds through the elementary schools,  the Oasis presence is evident, he observes.

“Each tutor knows their child, and that’s really neat to see,” he says.

Murphy is one of nearly 5,000 Oasis tutors working with children grades K-3 in 20 U.S. cities.

Finding more tutors, impacting more children – Generation to Generation

Oasis has the opportunity to increase the number of tutors and children served substantially by participating as a founding partner with Generation to Generation, a new national campaign that aims to mobilize one million adults age 50+ over the next five years to support young people.

“Children today need our support more than ever,” says Jeanne Foster, Oasis National Tutoring Manager. “Older adults have abundant skills and life experience, as well as a desire to help.  Oasis has the largest older adult tutoring program in the U.S. and we look forward to sharing our experience bringing the generations together. And in the process, we hope to engage thousands more Oasis tutors to expand the number of children we serve.”

Oasis is one of more than 40 partner organizations joining forces to make the Generation to Generation goal a reality. The campaign was launched November 17 by Encore.org, a national nonprofit that advocates “second acts for the greater good.”

“This campaign is a new take on an enduring idea – that societies thrive most fully when older and younger people come together, not just in families but in the greater community,” Encore.org founder and CEO Marc Freedman said. “Shining examples of this impulse are emerging all over the country – oftentimes, hidden in plain sight. The campaign will help illuminate these bright spots and provide ways for many more to get involved.”

Generation to Generation and Oasis Tutoring were featured in a recent story on PBS’s NextAvenue.

How you can help

To learn more about becoming an Oasis tutor, visit Oasisnet.org/Tutoring.

Find out about other volunteer opportunities through GenerationToGeneration.org.