Sally Clifford, Program Director

Experience Matters Sally Clifford, Program Director 360 E Coronado, Suite 170 Phoenix, AZ (602) 812-3945 [email protected] Experience Matters AmeriCorps Program Program Year 2017-2018 Phoenix, Arizona Federal Legislative District(s) 24

Community Need Program Activities The Experience Matters AmeriCorps In partnership with HandsOn Greater Program is designed to work with Public Phoenix’s Your Experience Counts program, and Charter Schools to help the Experience Corps Phoenix, College Depot, students and the schools to succeed by Read On Buckeye, and others. AmeriCorps members are placed in Title 1 schools and engaging retired skilled adults. Teachers agencies around Maricopa County. The often are short on time and resources AmeriCorps members serve as site to assist struggling students and schools coordinators who supervise, coach, and often lack the time and resources to support volunteers, as well as tutor and build a strong volunteer program. The mentor students themselves. AmeriCorps program addresses these issues through members also serve as capacity building direct service by members tutoring volunteers to establish / improve a family students and through capacity building, resource room, establish an afterschool where members help build and tutoring program, and develop processes coordinate the volunteer base at the and procedures to build and strengthen other programs that help school age school, improving the volunteer children succeed. experience and impact on the students. Program Impact National Priority Area and Program The Experience Corps Phoenix as well as the Performance Goals Read On Buckeye program places reading Education & Healthy Future tutors in Title 1 elementary schools, each  840 students are matched with with a majority of minority students, high mentors and receive coaching in levels of poverty and high levels of free and college and career readiness reduced lunch participation and a low rd  456 students in grades 1 – 3 are number of students passing 3 grade matched with reading tutors reading tests. AmeriCorps members take on  Partnering schools will the role of the site coordinator and manage the volunteer reading tutors. Leveraging implement effective volunteer partnerships with programs like these management practices developed allows us to have a targeted recruitment by the member strategy, place members in projects with  Members have a meaningful Encore well-defined expectations and goals, and experience offer projects to schools that have a demonstrated impact and require a minimum of time and resource commitment by the school administrators and teachers. Studies have shown, that students who do not read at grade level by the end of 3rd grade are four times more likely to drop out of high school than students who do read at grade level. Increasing Third Grade Reading Proficiency is the primary focus of these programs. Experience Matter also places AmeriCorps members at College Depot and Central High School. These projects focus on giving students the skills to be ready for college and career after high school. Mission Partnerships Experience Matters connects people with a lifetime of experience to The Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust has been a major supporter and meaningful opportunities, meeting the diverse needs of nonprofit strategic partner in carrying out the mission of Experience Matters. organizations and aiming to build stronger, more vibrant Encore.org and their Encore Fellows Network is another strategic partner. communities. Experience Matters is part of the national network of organizations that deliver the Encore Fellow Program to their community. In addition, BHHS Vision Legacy Foundation, Nina Mason Pulliam Trust, and Bruce T. Halle Foundation have all made significant investments in Experience Matters to Experience Matters vision is to effect lasting social change via a support the development and implementation of our programs and movement that changes the face of civic engagement and has the services we offer nonprofit organizations to effectively engage skilled potential to transform the structure and sustainability of hundreds of community talent age 50+. Our National Service Programs have been nonprofits throughout Maricopa County. Our purpose is to develop supported by Thunderbird Charities and the APS Foundation and and organize the marketplace that connects adults age 50+ to social Experience Matters College and Career Readiness initiatives most recently purpose opportunities Recognized nationally as a groundbreaking has secured funding through Phoenix IDA. We continue to build significant initiative, Experience Matters engages the time, talent and partnership to directly support the goals of our National Service Programs experience of adults age 50+ to help meet the growing needs in the including: public and nonprofit sector. Focusing specifically on the one million- plus Baby Boomers in Maricopa County, Experience Matters strives to  Read On Arizona and their affiliate networks in the Maricopa County prepare the civic and social purpose sectors in the creation of area engagement opportunities for this experienced group of talent.  City of Phoenix  Global Pathways Institute  Arizona Career Leadership Network  City of Buckeye

OTHER Broadly speaking, through our National Service Programs, Experience Matters is providing an innovative intergenerational approach to improve education and strengthen communities while supporting the changing expectations and needs of experience adults in Maricopa County.

History Since 2009, Experience Matters has served over 1500 individuals and more than 437 social purpose organizations through a best practice platform model that connects passionate skilled adults aged 50+ with community organizations. Our programs offer the variety and flexibility that Boomers have told us they need in term of structure (schedule, commitment, experience level, continued income) and purpose (interest area, connections, outcomes) in order to use their experience effectively and to address specific community needs. Experience Matters views national service as a powerful pathway for experienced adults to engage in and strengthen our community while helping them shift to social service endeavors and positively impact the community. Experience Matters has both an AmeriCorps grant from the Arizona Governor’s Commission on Service and Volunteerism and the Senior Corps RSVP grant for central, north, and west Maricopa County. Both programs have a primary focus on education, specifically school-based literacy tutoring and youth mentoring. Through collaborative partnerships, Experience Matters is committed to playing a leading role in providing services to improve AmeriCorps Site Coordinator and College and Career literacy and math outcomes for Arizona’s children as well as helping Readiness Mentors – Central High School, Phoenix. students develop a pathway for college and career.