While walking down William St. there is a noticeable divide between where the LoRise apartments end and the Middletown Robert Traverse Square community begins. But Wesleyan and Traverse Square are more connected than many may realize; students have been volunteering since 2001 with kids at the Traverse Square Community Center through a University-run after-school program. Volunteers help children age four to 14 with their school assignments and get to know their families.

“A really unique aspect of this program is that every night after the center, every tutor walks their child to where he lives and makes contact in some way with his sister, his mom, whoever is at home,” said Sara Quinn ’11, one of the student leaders. “In a lot of programs, you don’t get to be that involved with what’s happening after school and what happens when they go home.”

Alex Pogosky ’13, who worked with Traverse Square as a freshman, reflected upon the experience that made her return to the program this year.

“When you’re matched up with the same person week after week, you really start to gain a long-term connection, which is nice,” she said.

The program runs Monday through Thursday from 4 to 6 p.m. Volunteers are asked to commit to at least two days per week to helping the kids with homework and reading. On Fridays, the kids step out of the classroom and special events are hosted.

“Something that we’ve been working on instituting in the past year or so is incorporating more arts—providing more creative outlets for the kids,” said Benjamin Hart ’11, one of the student leaders of the program. “It’s becoming the main purpose of our Friday events. We bring kids up to campus to see performances or shows. We also sometimes bring groups or individuals down to the center to lead a little dance class, or an arts and crafts project. It’s more room for enrichment, but also for community building, which is something that’s a big goal for us.”

The Traverse Square program’s ultimate goal is building relationships. Although in the beginning volunteers may bounce around between the young pupils, ideally a tutor and a student are matched up for a semester so they can work together and bond. The volunteer works for the first hour with his or her student on homework, reading, and basic skills. Volunteers also work with their students on non-academic learning, specifically on behavioral and emotional growth.

“There are a lot of nuances in how the coordinating staff goes about facilitating the process,” said Navpreet Sidhu ’11, another student leader. “It always depends upon the group of tutors we have; it makes a difference if they’ve been doing it for a while. It also makes a difference for the next year because if a lot of them graduate it becomes a less tight-knit group of tutors, which changes the community in terms of integrating the kids.”

This year the children have all been transferred to a new elementary school, so the program provides a sense of extracurricular stability.

“I think the biggest goal is developing a strong relationship with the new elementary school,” said Catherine Lechowicz, Director of Community Service and Volunteerism. “If we’re truly trying to help these kids, we have to help them succeed in their academic environment.”

All four student representatives and Lechowicz agreed that although they make an effort to have open communication with parents and teachers, it is hard to measure the impact and success of the Traverse Square project.

“There are so many proud and exciting moments,” Hart said, reflecting on his past experiences with the program. “[Last year], we took the kids to La Casa for a trip and the residents of the house were explaining the term ‘Latino,’ and a lot of the kids had never heard it. So we ended up sitting down and having this whole conversation about what it means to be Latino, the history of that identity and whom it includes. It was this incredible moment of learning for the kids and for the students who had the opportunity to share this information with them.”

While tutors share their knowledge and experience with their students, students are giving their tutors an inside perspective on their lives and the communities in which they live.

“We’re always looking to collaborate with Wesleyan students,” Quinn said. “We’re always looking for new places to bring the kids, or if people want to come down and do something. We want to share the wealth of talents and resources that are here; we want to spread that shit out. And you can quote me on that.”