Elon President Leo M. Lambert and a group of Elon students spent time with second- and third-graders Thursday, Oct. 21 at the Salvation Army’s Frank S. Holt Jr., Boys and Girls Club in Burlington.
The Elon contingent led a game of math bingo, giving the youngsters a chance to demonstrate their addition and subtraction skills.
The Boys and Girls Club provides a safe place after school for children ages 5-18 to learn character and leadership development. In Burlington, the club serves more than 400 children, many from disadvantaged circumstances, each year.
Boys and Girls Club Director Sherri Henderson says more than 90 percent of the club’s volunteers come from Elon University. Elon’s Kernodle Center for Service Learning and Elon Volunteers! have been working with the club for more than 10 years.
Elon students working through Elon Volunteers! help run the club’s Power Hour program, providing homework assistance and supervising recreational activities for the children. Since 1999, almost 400 students have provided more than 2,600 hours of service to the club.
Elon students also work with the club through the university’s Academic Service-Learning component. While helping children develop specific skills in reading, writing or math, Elon students also learn about important civic and social issues facing the community.