Tutors go above and beyond on our Tutor Advisory Council

For some volunteers in Tulsa, one hour a week just isn’t enough. They add on make up sessions, work with multiple students, and 12 of them even serve on the Tutor Advisory Council. The Reading Partners Tulsa Tutor Advisory Council (TAC) is an official volunteer committee of Reading Partners Tulsa that works to strengthen the tutor experience by fostering a sense of community through volunteer recruitment, community engagement, volunteer appreciation and stewardship.

In the 2018-19 program year, TAC members helped advance the Reading Partners mission to help children become lifelong readers through 45 hours of service, on top of their weekly tutoring commitments. They made phone calls to thank tutors and encourage them to fill out surveys, which resulted in a thirty-five percent response rate, more than three times greater than the previous year. They stuffed envelopes during our Annual Appeal, helping us raise more than eight thousand dollars to supply the Take Reading Home and Tutor Read Aloud libraries. They also posted flyers in public libraries and canvassed all over Tulsa to spread the word about our program.

Perhaps most importantly, these volunteers continue to share their own stories through videos that are featured in our regular communications, helping at recruitment events, participating in media interviews and sharing with their social media networks, inspiring new community members to sign up with Reading Partners. 

The council meets quarterly to discuss our progress to goals and program initiatives. The input provided during these meetings is essential feedback from those who interact with our students in the reading centers day-to-day. Volunteers are the lifeblood of our organization, and we need their support as we think through how best to engage other volunteers in Tulsa.

You can identify these volunteers in your own center by the green ribbon on their name tags. They are a great reference for any questions you may have as a volunteer. Interested in joining the Tutor Advisory Council? Reach out to us at volunteerTUL@readingpartners.org

2018-19 TAC members

Brenda Burnett
Wil Bruner
Sha Clark
Dan Eshom
Taylor Finley
Jessie Guidry
Matt Kennedy
Robert Peterson
Rosie Peterson
Jerry Smith
Beth Stewart
Heidi Wallace