February 2016

 

  

 

Hello Friend,

You helped make last year the best yet for School on Wheels and our students. Thank you! 3,491 homeless students in Southern California were tutored by 2,223 volunteers in 2015. How wonderful is that? We awarded scholarships to 19 awesome students, presented the prestigious President's Volunteer Service Award to 124 volunteers, provided backpacks, schools supplies, uniforms, bus tokens and computers to over 7,000 homeless kids, and, we raised over $2,000,000 in funds.

The only way we can accomplish any of this work is because of you, our amazing volunteers and our wonderful, most generous donors. At a time when poor and homeless children are falling through the education cracks faster than we can save them, it is a true testament to your spirit and character that so many of you come together to help homeless students. California has the largest population of homeless students in the country and twice the rate of homeless students as the national average.

Fewer than 25% of these homeless students will graduate from high school.

We know that education improves lives and that investing in education wisely is an economic imperative for this country. Thank you for being there for our students. They need you. We need you. Please continue to advocate for them - tell your families, friends, neighbors, colleagues about how many homeless children there are in the United States (2.5 million) and how invisible and forgotten they are. They have no power and no voice in our society; but you do, and you are helping to change that.

With deep gratitude,
Catherine Meek
Executive Director
In the News
KIIS FM, Community Council

Our Marketing Director Sinead Chilton was interviewed for the KIIS FM radio segment Community Council to talk about School on Wheels!

Poverty to Professional

On November 20, 2015, former School on Wheels student Angela Sanchez started a blog about her journey from homelessness at the age of 16 to where she is now as a UCLA graduate. Join us in following her journey, Poverty to Professional - here.
Events
 
The Santa Monica Bay Women's Club will be hosting its 7th Annual Valentine's event on Saturday, Feb. 6 @ 10am. It costs $10 per person. 
 
All proceeds will be donated to the Santa Monica-Malibu Education Foundation; with matching funds donated to LA School on Wheels. 
80's Valentine's Prom
 
You're invited to travel back in time and attend an 80s prom hosted by Dream a Theme Productions!
 
When: Feb. 13, 5:30pm-10pm
Where: Ventura County Fairgrounds (Santa Rosa Hall)
10 W. Harbor Blvd
Ventura, CA
 
A portion of the proceeds will benefit School on Wheels. Click here to buy your tickets now!
Donors of the Month
Gwynn, Laila and Sydney, Kindergarten students from Woodland Hills, set up a lemonade and lemon stand and raised $60 for School on Wheels in just 2 hours!
For more than eight years Beverly Seger has been knitting beanie hats for our students. This year she made over 200! Here is our Executive Director Catherine and Lisa our Bookkeeper modelling said hats.  

Board Member of the Month 


School on Wheels is happy to announce the appointment of a new Executive Board member. Joining the Board is Chris Chambers Goodman. She has supported School on Wheels for many years, and volunteers as a tutor at the Skid Row Learning Center. 

Professor Goodman  is delighted to be working on the Board of School on Wheels. She says that "planting the seed of enthusiasm for learning, and helping students maximize their educational opportunities both inside and outside of the classroom is my goal as a board member for this unique nonprofit."
Domino's Partnership

So. Cal. Domino's will be hosting a Valentine's Pizza party for our students at the Skid Row Learning Center and are sponsoring our Star Volunteers and Star Students! Every nominee will receive a Certificate of Excellence from Domino's entitling them to a FREE pizza (subject to location/participating restaurant).
Star Student
Krystal, 6th grade
Not many kids Krystal's age are eager to learn or will ask you to teach them a little more than what the teacher has taught so far in class--I can't wait to see what Krystal's future has in store for her because I know it will be as bright as her personality.
-Tutor, Kaycee Holcomb 


Each of our amazing students inspire us every day! Click here to read more stories.
Star Tutors
OMD Entertainment Group, Region 3
What has really been great is that with their support, we have expanded tutoring at this location; now we are able to help a lot more kids because of their consistency and commitment to the program.
-Regional Coordinator, Kyle McDonough

Want to read more from our dedicated tutors? Click here and be inspired by their stories!
Tutor Resources

You are invited to attend three FREE screenings of this compelling educational documentary. 
  • February 8th, University of California, Irvine
  • February 17th, Inner City Arts, Downtown LA
  • February 23rd, Ventura County Community Foundation, Camarillo

Volunteers are encouraged to bring a guest! 
School on Wheels runs a weekly advice feature every Tuesday called Ask a Tutor Tuesday!
This blog feature serves as the perfect opportunity to ask veteran tutors questions regarding their experiences and to get advice.

Click the image to see our past Ask a Tutor posts!
Careers
Become a Regional Coordinator!
Looking for a rewarding volunteer management position where you can make a difference? 
 

How to Show your Continued Support

We love these easy ways to support School on Wheels:


Recurring Donations
Recurring donations are the best way to give steady support to School on Wheels. You can set up a monthly recurring donation here 

Amazon donates 0.5% of the price of your eligible AmazonSmile purchases to the charitable organization of your choice (hopefully School on Wheels!)

iGive.com gives a donation every time you shop at any of their 927 participating stores at no additional cost to you. Install it as a browser add-on and search for School on Wheels.


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