Read to Succeed Buffalo (RTSB) announced today that the organization has been awarded funding from the AmeriCorps Volunteer Generation Fund as a sub-grantee of the AARP Foundation Experience Corps program.

RTSB’s Experience Corps Buffalo program recruits and trains adults 50+ to provide individualized tutor/mentoring to Buffalo students. Program participants are Pre-K – 3rd grade students who test below grade-level on literacy assessments. At the program's current capacity, 87 tutor/mentors serve nearly 300 students at 10 Buffalo schools.

The AmeriCorps Volunteer Generation Fund awarded a renewable grant of $172,000 for a minimum of three years. This funding will be used to recruit, train, manage, and support new volunteers with a goal of 40-50 new volunteer tutor/mentors this fall.

The Volunteer Generation Fund (VGF) focuses on investments in volunteer management practices that strengthen nonprofit organizations and other entities abilities to increase recruitment and retention of volunteers to meet critical community needs through service.

“Experience Corps Buffalo has made a measurable impact on student performance since it was brought to Buffalo in 2016. This funding enables RTSB to increase its volunteer recruitment efforts and serve more students with this high-impact tutoring model,” said RTSB Executive Director Anne Ryan.