Amidst this pandemic, we noticed that a lot of individuals were experiencing difficulties adjusting to the new circumstances. Considering we are both daughters of educators, both Sarah and I understand the pressure that these lifestyle changes have put on young children, especially in terms of their education and social life. We knew that we needed to address the difficulties students are having with acclimating to distance learning and make an everlasting impact on their lives during these unprecedented times. Beyond that, it is imperative that they have their social time - even if it is online. Parents, too, have been tasked with balancing their work, home, and personal lives, all while trying to take care of their children. One of the goals of the program we established is to provide a fun and safe space for children, all while easing some of the stress on parents by providing an entertainment outlet for their kids. The Covid NineTEEN Project is a teen-led initiative we co-founded that provides access to free educational resources for elementary school students, ranging from one-on-one tutoring to academic, athletic, and artistic group activities. We are currently on our summer session schedule which is held between 9:00 am and 5:00 pm PST every single day! Currently, The Covid NineTEEN Project is run by its co-founders, 15 board members, and 200+ trained teen mentors. We have over 800 students registered for programming worldwide. While students are primarily located in the United States, we also have kids attending sessions from South Africa, Argentina, Bangladesh, Canada, and more!
The tutoring program consists of one-on-one sessions where teen mentors assist children with any academic subjects they need help with. Tutoring is offered in 14 different languages for the core school subjects: English, Math, Science, and History. To find out which languages are offered on which days, you can check the schedule under the “Tutoring” tab on our website, covidnineteenproject.com. We also offer engaging teen-led activities that change on a weekly basis. Some of our most popular sessions include a Tik Tok Dance Class, Journaling, Step-by-Step Drawing, and more! Teen mentors have created incredibly unique activities, such as a Virtual Escape Room and the Epic Lego Challenge. However, it’s not only the volunteers who are so passionate and ecstatic towards the project; the kids enjoy the tutoring and classes immensely and are eager to return each week. The activities not only provide a unique way of keeping children stuck at home engaged, but they also allow teen mentors to pass on their passions to children.
Many of our classes closely resemble extracurricular activities that students would normally participate in outside of school prior to the pandemic. However, many of these extracurricular activities typically require money, which puts many families and children at a disadvantage. Our programming is completely free to overcome some of those educational barriers, ensuring all students can access our curriculum and programming.
We want more teens to be able to feel like they can make a difference in their community as well! As two female co-founders and an executive board made up of nearly all girls, we hope to inspire other young girls to take initiative and enact positive social change in their communities. We encourage all female youth activists to feel empowered to create their own organizations and to not feel discouraged from doing so simply because of their age or gender. As a teen-led initiative, The Covid NineTEEN Project truly demonstrates the power that the younger generation holds. By speaking up and enacting positive social change, we can truly impact the lives of others.
The support and response that the project has gotten from our local community further demonstrate its increasing impact. We receive emails and testimonials daily from parents, explaining the difference it has made in the lives of their families. Parents have also been incredible in spreading the message throughout their own communities. It is amazing for us, as a program, to see such community support. This project has truly been a life-changing experience for us, the board members, the students we serve, and all of our volunteers. We will be forever grateful that so many teens have decided to take in joining us on this philanthropic endeavor, and we cannot wait to see this project continue to grow in the future.
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