Wanted: Volunteers and funding for Germantown math-tutoring program

With the first day of school quickly approaching, a free math-tutoring program in East Germantown is still not completely funded.

From September to April, the Chew and Belfield Neighbors Club Inc. (CNBC) hosts a math tutoring program for students as young as seven years old. It is held every Saturday from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. at the Joseph E. Coleman Northwest Regional Library located at 68 W. Chelten Ave.

During the two-hour program, participants and volunteer instructors are given a snack, which Rev. Chester Williams, the group’s founder and president, said he considers an essential element of the program.

“I feel strongly that we should feed the people something nourishing if they are giving their time and volunteering and doing cleaning and stuff of that nature in the community,” said Williams.

Out-of-pocket expenses

Williams said that with or without donations, the tutoring program will continue. He will just pay out of pocket, which he has done in the past.

“We always have open doors for anyone that wants to give a financial donation or buy a tray of food from the deli, to give something for the students who come in to study math,” he continued. That way, “they can have something, because they think and function better with something.”

He has turned, as he has in the past, to fundraising events and initiatives. The next one, a spoken-word event called “Night on the Ridge,” will be held Sept. 22 at Mom’s Kitchen Table, 2319 Ridge Ave.

Call for tutors

The current problem, as the school year approaches, is that no one has volunteered their time to help, Williams said.

The program is seeking six volunteer instructors for a program which drew about 50 students last year. There is more information available via the group’s website.