Make it happen!

Now that the weather is so nice all the kids at the center are really anxious to get outside and play (sound familiar?). Understandably, the sunshine made it had a really hard for us to stay cooped up inside for our hour long session and work on boring math practice problems. So we decided to think outside the box or, as Dereese always calls it, “make it happen!”

Upon agreeing that math could be a good time if we put our minds to it, Dereese and I ran outside and used chalk to outline a Cartesian coordinate system on the parking lot behind the center. Then, inspired by Dereese’s love for football, we imagined the parking lot was Wallace Wade Stadium. I was the star quarterback and he was my number one receiver. We began running routes, using the starting points and ending points on the plane and then calculating the slope of the resulting line to see how many steps were in the pattern.

Right next to us, another volunteer was working on multiplication tables by having her tutee jump out the product of practice multiplication tables. The ease with which they jumped 6X8 would have amazed even the most athletic Dukie!

Don’t let the warm weather shy you away from tutoring. Some of the best fun at the sun can be found at a local tutoring center near you. Make it happen!

Come one! Come all!

Notice: Everyone has the potential to be an amazing tutor! Varieties of personalities, interests, and skills, combine to make each tutoring session dynamic and extremely unique.

Think you are too shy? Don’t worry, many students at the center feel much more comfortable and learn more readily with more quiet and reserved tutors.

Feel like you just don’t have enough time? You can volunteer anytime between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday at any of 10 local schools and after school programs. For more general information email Project Child Coordinator Liz Henderson (liz.henderson@duke.edu) or click on the link on the upper left of this page for more information.

Need a ride? Project coordinators of the Duke Durham Initiatives (see link at the top of page) can help arrange car pools.

Forget how to calculate a slope? You can work with kids of all grades and ability levels and even formulate your own lesson plan to teach the tutee something you love!

What Makes You Special?

In a campus atmosphere that seems to only highlight resume worthy accomplishments, I oftentimes find it very easy to forget the characteristics and talents, within each of us, that make us all truly individual. Fortunately, the atmosphere at the West End is totally the opposite. Whether it be your unique ability to draw, sing, hop-scotch, make jokes, or (as in my case) dance, all the kids at the West End Center embrace you for your efforts to positively contribute to the overall West End experience. Each time I enter the center I gain a sense of reassurance, one that is absent on the front pages of the Chronicle, that my actions are really causing change. In some ways, being greeted with a sea of smiles and an innumerable amount of requests to do the “Chicken Noodle Soup,” provides, if even only for a moment, a sense that I am a unique contributor in a mission to help those in need. The West End Center is a great place to find a sense of belonging and appreciation.