Today marks the last day of National Volunteer Week. Throughout the week, we have been sharing stories and celebrating the amazing work that volunteers do at Covenant House Vancouver (CHV).
This year’s theme is Volunteers Make Waves — “It highlights the power, impact, and importance of individual and collective volunteer efforts across Canada. Like a wave, volunteering is movement building.”
We would like to end the week by sharing a little bit about our peer-to-peer tutoring service and the experience of one of our tutors.
Peer-to-Peer Tutoring
This service began in 2023, through CHV’s desire to bolster its educational support for young people.
To become a peer-to-peer tutor, volunteers connect with us through our volunteer webpage. Once onboarded, a tutor will be matched with a youth for a particular subject.
Since its inception, six youth have accessed this service, with three youth currently working with tutors. Most of the tutors are, or have been, university students, and the subjects that have the highest requests for support are math and English.
The tutors have expressed how they have enjoyed their experiences and have used these experiences to further their education.
Meet Natalie
Natalie is from Hong Kong, where she had been tutoring for years. She began tutoring as a part-time job, while she went to university. She moved to Vancouver two years ago and loves the city for its vibe and the openness and generosity of its people.
Natalie currently works with children with diverse learning needs. She was looking for volunteer and work opportunities to support the physical or mental health of young people. She learned about CHV through a chat with the CEO of Pathways Clubhouse.
Natalie found CHV’s approach to supporting youth to be well rounded and mindfully designed. She was excited to support her peers and to help them create brighter futures for themselves.
When asked what she enjoyed about tutoring, Natalie said, “I really enjoy it when the teen is eager to learn, shows improvement, or gets motivated by the goals we set. When we become acquainted, they often share their struggles with me, both academically and socially, which helps me understand them better and find the right way to support them better in their studies.”
Natalie feels well supported in her role at CHV: “The social workers and volunteer team have always been a great support in this process, to organize, provide support, and communicate in between sessions.”
Natalie’s experience as an English tutor has served her well at CHV, as English is not the first language for many youth who use our services. She is currently into her fourth month of tutoring her second youth, since she joined CHV, last year. “Both of the youth I have worked with are super motivated and hold clear goals for themselves to improve their English. They share specific targets with me, in both their short- and long-term goals that they want to succeed in.”
What stands out to Natalie is the resiliency and dedication of the youth she tutors: “As classes go on, I am always so impressed by how hard the youth are working to succeed, even given what’s on their plates — working, dealing with trauma, and current life struggles, both at work and in their daily lives. But, they still show up, no matter how exhausted they are, because they cherish each session we have together.”
Working with youth from different backgrounds and experiences has helped Natalie learn and improve how she tutors. Each youth struggles differently with pronunciation, phonics, and grammar, which has led to Natalie exploring different ways of helping them improve their oral and written English.
Would Natalie recommend tutoring youth at CHV? “Yes. It’s a great journey of commitment and growth, for both the youth and the tutor.”
Thank you, Natalie! And thank you to all of the volunteers who bring their hearts and their talents and share them with the young people who access our services.
If you are curious about the volunteer opportunities at CHV, check out our webpage, and connect with us to learn more.