205: Digital Transformation as the New Normal - Moving Mentoring Online
What do you do when you run the largest inter-generational mentoring program in the country and a pandemic strikes? Elizabeth Pawloski shares how they've been able to connect K-3 students and older adults online while staying physically distant.
Guest Bio:
Elizabeth Pawloski, CVA
National Director of Tutoring Partnerships and Expansion
Oasis Institute in St. Louis
In her current role with Oasis, Elizabeth is responsible for the expansion of the Intergenerational Tutoring Program into new markets and the administration of the Senior Corps-RSVP federal grants. Elizabeth came to Oasis in 2014 with over 25 years of Volunteer Management experience. Elizabeth previously served as the Director of Volunteer Services at the University of Missouri-St. Louis and Assistant Director of Membership Services for the Girl Scouts of Eastern Missouri. Elizabeth has served as the President of the Metropolitan Volunteer Management Association, member of the United Way Volunteer Center Certification Committee and the University of Missouri System Administrative Leadership Development Program. She is a certified Volunteer Administrator and a prior recipient of the St. Louis Volunteer Director of the Year Award.
Her Bachelor of Science Degree is in Business Administration from the University of Missouri - Columbia and she has completed post-graduate work towards a Master of Education degree in Counseling from the University of Missouri - St. Louis.
She is passionate about volunteerism, intergenerational relationships and being kind to others.
Show Notes:
Oasis Institute is the largest intergenerational K-3 mentoring program in the nation with 83 school districts and 4000 tutors. The average volunteer is a 72 year old woman - many are former teachers, moms, grandmas, or others who have worked with children. They volunteer for an hour a week, and with an average tenure of 17 years. All tutoring took place in person before COVID-19 required a pivot.
With shelter in place they had to reinvent their whole program. Elizabeth worked to understand what volunteers wanted to do, what the school’s policies were, and what might work moving forward. She invited volunteers to come to the table with solutions with how they might feel comfortable continuing to mentor children through distance learning.
By prioritizing safely and inclusion Elizabeth was able to pivot her volunteer engagement strategy to work for both the students and the tutors. She included zoom training for the volunteers that wanted to participate, and created a communication plan to keep in touch with the volunteers that didn’t feel comfortable moving to an online platform.
Over the Summer they launched a pilot program with several local libraries and were able to evaluate what worked and where they would continue to innovate to launch their program for the school year.
If you are interested in learning more about Oasis and their Intergenerational Tutoring Program, visit their website at https://tutoring.oasisnet.org/or follow them on Facebook and Twitter @OasisInstitute
If you want to reach out directly to Elizabeth, email her at epawloski@oasisnet.org. You can also find Elizabeth on LinkedIn.