Bridge Program seeks volunteers to tutor adult learners

The Harvard University Bridge to Learning and Literacy Program – an education program for the University’s service workers – is seeking volunteers who can commit two hours per week to tutor adult learners in language, literacy, numeracy, and computers skills. While some volunteers are needed immediately, the program is also asking people who may be interested in tutoring in the spring semester to inquire as soon as possible.

Begun four years ago as a pilot program for a small group of workers at the Harvard Faculty Club, the Bridge Program now offers education and career development to nearly 500 workers from across the University. Courses are offered in English as a second language, basic literacy skills development, academic reading and writing, GED preparation, and computers.

As demand for courses continues to grow, the program strives to provide services to as many workers as possible. Increasingly, the Bridge Program depends in part on support from Harvard staff and student volunteers from across the University who offer two or more hours a week as tutors and teaching assistants.

Many volunteers provide tutoring support for enrolled students, offering individualized attention that serves to more closely address each student’s needs. Others work with students who are on a waiting list for courses, extending program services to many who would otherwise be without. Some volunteers act as teaching assistants, providing support to Bridge teachers and students from within the classroom.

All volunteers work closely with the program’s volunteer tutor coordinator, who matches volunteers with students at levels and times that suit the volunteer’s interests and needs, and provides ongoing material and advisory support. No experience is necessary.

Those interested in volunteering can receive a guide and gather more information about the program by calling David Hayes, volunteer coordinator, at (617) 384-9444, or e-mailing david_hayes@harvard.edu.