Submitted by Gretchen Dorrego
Three years ago, Chatham students, Sofia Dorrego and Amanda Gallop, were tasked with the challenge of identifying a service or improvement needed in their community and implementing change. This was all in an effort to obtain their Girl Scout Silver Award, the second highest honor a Girl Scout can achieve. Realizing there was really no resource for Chatham’s elementary aged school children to seek support or help outside of the classroom, the girls jumped into action and successfully founded and ran a Homework Helpers Club at the Library of The Chathams.
Sofia, who has her heart set on majoring in Elementary Education in college, and Amanda, who wants to study Family Law, could have stopped offering this free service after they were given their Silver Award, but they found their work so rewarding and received such positive feedback from the children who attended that they have continued, with no plans of ending in sight.
The Homework Helpers Club meets every other Wednesday, at the library, from 3:30 to 5 p.m. Chatham students in grades K-5 are welcome to stop by for the entire time or just for a portion of it.
The girls are prepared to help with homework assignments but are also equipped with flash cards, educational games, coloring books, and puzzles. They will also be more than happy to sit and read with the children.
Please call the Children’s Room at the Library of The Chathams to reserve a spot for your child in one or all the sessions or feel free to have them drop in on an as needed basis.
The Library of The Chathams is located at 214 Main Street, Chatham, New Jersey. For more information, call 973-635-0603.
