Experience Corps: How a Business Leader and a Public Health Dean Changed Literacy for 30,000 Students a Year

Source: CoGenerate | Date: Ongoing (History page)

Experience Corps was co-created by Marc Freedman and Dr. Linda Fried, then Dean of Columbia's Mailman School of Public Health, based on a concept developed by John Gardner — former U.S. Secretary of Health and founder of Common Cause. The program matches adults aged 55+ with young students who need literacy support. AARP now runs the program, serving over 30,000 students in more than 20 cities across the United States. Over 2,000 Encore Fellows have contributed more than 2 million hours of service — valued at $200 million — to nonprofits in 50 metropolitan areas.

Key fact: The program works not because older adults mentor youth, but because they work alongside teachers in the same classrooms, as part of the same community effort.

Link: cogenerate.org/history/