CEO Corner: August 2023

Seniors in Service CEO Robin Ingles smiling with St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch at a community event.

Early literacy changes the trajectory of a child’s life — and it’s happening every day in our classrooms. Seniors in Service volunteers are showing up with consistency, care, and one-on-one support that helps students build confidence and succeed. From a record year of tutoring to continued summer commitment, this impact is real — and the need is even greater. With hundreds of classrooms still without support, there’s a clear opportunity to step in and make a lasting difference.

A Message From Robin Ingles

Every day, I am inspired by the accomplishments of our volunteers and the difference they make in the community. As you’ll read in this newsletter, we took time to celebrate the end of a successful 2022-2023 school year at our May Volunteer Appreciation Event!

Our 237 Classroom Grandparents provided over 146,266 hours of tutoring last year to help 1,354 children improve their literacy skills.

Instead of taking a vacation for the summer, 80 of our Classroom Grandparents chose to continue tutoring for summer sessions, because they understand the value of their presence in the classroom. According to Champions for Children, less than 50% of babies born in Hillsborough County enter kindergarten ready to learn. Plus, only 50% of Tampa Bay third graders read on grade level. That’s where our volunteers step in and help students feel confident, supported, and prepared in the classroom.

Each day, our volunteers create positive childhood experiences that increase a child's likelihood of success in the classroom. It is, in fact, the social-emotional connection with the individual, combined with talking and reading, that fosters a positive attachment to early learning and literacy.

Throughout the summer, we’ve been recruiting even more volunteers to serve in the classroom. We have nearly 250 volunteers in the schools, yet there are over 1,300 Title 1 kindergarten through third-grade classrooms in Hillsborough and Pinellas counties. With your help, we can close that gap and support struggling students who desperately need the one-on-one support that Classroom Grandparents provide. Become a Classroom Grandparent, change the lives of Pre-K through third-grade students, and make a lasting impact on future generations.