For 30 years, the Seattle Public Library has welcomed volunteers to help local students with their homework during drop-in after-school hours. This year, they’re recruiting volunteers for free Homework Help tutoring at the High Point and South Park branches. Citywide, last school year, SPL says 1,100 students used Homework Help more than 4,400 times, aided by more than 180 volunteers. SPL says 60 percent of the students reported better grades as a result of the help they received. You can be part of kids’ success this year! Here’s what SPL wants prospective volunteers to know:

The Library requests a volunteer commitment for the school year, specifically from Sept. 16, 2024 through June 12, 2025. Volunteer shifts are available Monday through Thursday between 3:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., and each shift is approximately two hours.

Volunteers must be 18 or older. Having competence in another language, especially Amharic, Tigrinya, Somali, Oromo and Spanish, is also helpful. The majority of students served by the program are youth of color, with 90% of students reporting their parents speaking a language other than English at home.

Volunteer tutors receive an orientation and additional materials about working with youth and concepts such as social-emotional learning and growth mindset.

During Homework Help sessions, volunteers help students with homework, play learning games, read to students, or work with them on academic worksheets. Volunteers work with students individually and in small groups. High-school students can get help with not just academic subjects but with other priorities such as college essays.

Because Homework Help is a drop-in program, students can show up any day to receive help, and they do not need to have a Library card to attend. Snacks are provided at every Homework Help session, courtesy of The Seattle Public Library Foundation and the Hunger Intervention Program.

Can you help? Or, have a question? You can email SPL’s Volunteer Services Coordinator at volunteer@spl.org (and find more info here). They’re hoping to hear from new volunteers ASAP as the new school year approaches, but they do also accept volunteer applications throughout the year.