Homework House Seeks Volunteers for Tutoring Program

As schools prepare to open, the nonprofit Homework House is gearing for an influx of students and is calling for volunteer tutors.

Children from all economic classes and ethnic backgrounds come to the Homework House centers for academic assistance, said Ray Wyman, associate director of the agency.

Last year, more than 200 youths, many of them from poor homes, turned to the agency’s volunteers for help with reading, writing, math and computer technology.

While college students heading for careers in education are generously assisting, agency directors said they still are in critical need of adult tutors.

“We really need adults because that is where our kids need the mentorship,” Wyman said. “It’s important that they have adults reading to them and giving them motherly or fatherly guidance. We need a mix.”

All volunteers are given free training, and no teaching experience is required. The program does not accept children with criminal records or with severe disabilities.

The agency has a center in Placentia for grades one through eight and in Orange for grades one through 12.

Through private and corporate donations, agency officials said they hope to open 106 centers over the next five years.

Volunteers interested in tutoring and families who want to use the service should call volunteer coordinator Marcia Marcinko at (714) 694-0965or Executive Director Barbara Abouchar at (714) 633-1691.