PROJECT LIST

Big Brothers/Big Sisters: Volunteers will be matched with a school aged child through the national Big Brothers/ Big Sisters organization. Mentors will go to their match's school once a week and will have the unique opportunity to develop a one-on-one relationship. Time will be divided between academic and social pursuits. Contact: bmorgan@tulane.edu

Children’s Athletic Program (CAP): Volunteers create a positive recreational environment for inner-city children. The purpose is to play games and make crafts while stressing the importance of sportsmanship, teamwork, and leadership. Contact: selkhaya@tulane.edu

Book Giving Tree: During the holiday season, CACTUS sponsors the Book Giving Tree, donating books to the hundreds of children we work with throughout the year. Since many children do not possess the skills to read at their grade level, we also record several hundred books on to audiocassette tapes in cooperation with the Listen, Learn and Read program. Books accompanied by tapes allow a child to read along with the tape when parents or tutors are not available. Contact: lcox1@tulane.edu

Gert Town Family Center: Gert Town, an area in uptown New Orleans next to Xavier University, was extremely devastated by the storm, and families and other members of the community are still struggling to come back and rebuild their lives and homes.  The community center was reopened by Catholic Charities, and is available to the kids in the area after school to have tutors and mentors aid in homework, arts and crafts, and general skill building in math and English.  The students are from K-8th grade, and each tutor is paired with a student, providing a strong tie between them so that a commitment to the student is formed. Contact: agooch@tulane.edu

ACT Tutoring: Volunteers will tutor an ACT class at Science and Math High School. You will use review books to work with each student. Volunteers will also be proctoring diagnostic exams. Contact: apacsi@tulane.edu

Juvenile Assistance: Falling into the category of juvenile assistance, this program runs once a week to a Garden District home for underprivileged girls. The ages of the girls range from 12-17 and the organization houses about eight girls at any given time. A few examples of activities we bring are: basketball and music on the radio/CDs, Valentine's Day cards, cookie decorating, magazine collages, and Pictionary.Contact: ssanacor@tulane.edu

New Orleans Outreach: CACTUS works with the following Charter public schools: Sophie B. Wright Middle, Green and New Orleans Math and Science High to provide much-needed tutoring and a variety of extracurricular opportunities for students. Contact: kchang1@tulane.edu

SCALE (aka Reading is Fundamental): Volunteers will go into a middle school and provide assistance to students for improving their reading skills. Each tutor will have one student that they meet with twice a week. Contact: ahuber@tulane.edu or klarkin@tulane.edu

Ben Franklin Recreation Program: CACTUS volunteers will be meeting Fiday afternoons at 3:00 to run an after school, recreational program for Benjamin Franklin Elementary in Uptown New Orleans. Transportation is provided to and from the site, with volunteers returning to campus at 5:30 PM. Volunteers may take part in sports programs, arts and crafts, games, or clubs of their choosing. Each group of two or three volunteers will be paired with 10 to 12 students from the school. Contact: bsavoie@tulane.edu

ESL Program at Behrman Elementary: Volunteers will assist students aged pre-k through second grade at Berhman Elementary School on the West Bank. The students selected for tutoring are not native English speakers but generally have English skills so foreign language expertise is not required. Volunteers can work with students on an individual basis with school work or in groups on improving language skills. Any time you can give we will be happy to have you. You can volunteer as much or as little as you like. Contact: zfeinber@tulane.edu

Home for Homework: Home for Homework is an after-school tutoring program for fifth and sixth grade students at Fischer Elementary School, which is located approximately 15 minutes away from Tulane's campus.  We will carpool to the site (depending on how many volunteers there are).  Tutors should commit to volunteering one to two days a week from 2:45 - 5:00 pm on Mondays and/or Wednesdays.  During the first half of the tutoring session, volunteers will help the students with their homework, and the second half of the session will consist of enrichment activities such as art projects or sports and a snack time.  The goal of this project is to raise the students' grades by two levels by the end of the year and to engage kids in productive after-school activities.Contact: dmarker@tulane.edu or asaper@tulane.edu.

Boys Hope Girls Hope :Interested in tutoring? Boys Hope Girls Hope of New Orleans is a program that takes children out of risky or unsuitable environmental conditions and brings them into a stable home to live with other children of similar background. Americorps volunteers live in the house with the children and provide them with the support and guidance that they may not have previously had. The tutoring program is focused on providing the children with knowledge and encouragement to help them graduate from high school and move on to college. The house is close to campus and transportation will be provided. Contact: apatel@tulane.edu or mwalker7@tulane.edu

Communities in Schools: Contact: bmorgan@tulane.edu