Often their parents bring them kicking and screaming into Columbus Metropolitan Library’s Homework Help Centers. Soon however, the children become friends with staff members and evolve into eager regulars. Even after the first day of school, students came rushing into the homework center at the Whitehall branch. The kids were excited to share new skills and stories with staff members. In one comic display, a student was quick to show off her new ability to write with her feet in addition to her improving math skills.
“It’s very rewarding. The kids know you. A lot of times they just need a little push and then it clicks. They thrive on a little bit of extra help. I’ve seen a lot of growth. Grades go up when they are regulars,” said Liz Leonard, a Homework Help Center specialist.
The Columbus Metropolitan Library’s Homework Help Centers offer free one-on-one assistance, computers, printers, writing supplies, and more to students K-12. Thanks completely to donations, 11 more centers have recently opened, giving every one of the 21 library branches a homework center. Last school year 52,000 visits were made to the help centers.
“We are meeting a need and it is clearly valued. We had 422 kids in the first two school days this year and we will continue to help more students every day,” said library Communications Director Kim Snell.
Students find their way to the homework centers for a variety of reasons. Three of the homework centers even offer bilingual staff members.
“The centers are very important. Especially in this community, a lot of kids don’t have the supplies, the Internet, and printers. It’s a mostly low-income area, work schedules can be odd hours, so we help when parents can’t. In this area there is also a high concentration of first generation Americans, mostly Ethiopians and Hispanics, so sometimes parents can struggle with language barriers and we are here to help,” said Vanessa Pepple, Homework Help Center coordinator at the Whitehall branch.
The Homework Help Centers get very busy. The Karl Road branch averaged 70 students a day last school year and it’s not because they are giving away answers.
“We teach them skills. We give them the tools not the answers. There won’t be anyone there when they are in college. I am a teacher so I run it a lot like a classroom,” said Leonard.
How to get involved
To find more information about the Homework Help Centers, including hours of operation, click here.
Interested in volunteering? The Columbus Metropolitan Library offers many opportunities and is always looking for help. Find details here.
Donations can be made to the Columbus Metropolitan Library’s Cody Conover Fund for Young Minds of The Columbus Foundation. The fund supports library programs for children and caregivers. Online donations can be made here.
For more information on nearly 600 central Ohio nonprofits, visit PowerPhilanthropy®, The Columbus Foundation’s giving tool with information on central Ohio nonprofits, which can help you help others through the most effective philanthropy possible.
Philanthropy Friday is a feature series produced by The Columbus Foundation that highlights Columbus area nonprofit organizations. For more nonprofit information, follow us on Twitter at @colsfoundation and like The Columbus Foundation on Facebook.
All images by The Columbus Foundation.
