Everybody Wins! with 100 volunteers at Morse School

By Magda McCormick

"The Morse School celebrates historic milestone with Everybody Wins! Metro Boston”

Everybody Wins! Metro Boston (EWMB) is an innovative literacy and mentoring organization that increases children’s prospects for success in school and in life. Its signature Power Lunch program pairs elementary school students one-to-one with volunteer mentors from local corporations and businesses to read aloud once a week during lunchtime. Power Lunch at the Morse School is the organization’s longest running program and the only of its kind serving Cambridge.

Earlier this month, the program kicked off its 6th year at the Morse with a milestone 100 volunteer mentors! These volunteers are recruited and trained by EWMB and come from local companies and community organizations including Gentle Giant Moving Company, Pfizer, Biogen Idec, Target Analysis Group, CDM, MIT Alumni Association, Coldwell Banker and the Cambridge Chamber of Commerce. On a weekly basis, they visit the Morse and read aloud to students in grades 1 through 5 who have been selected by their classroom teachers to take part in this exciting and inspiring experience with books. Students clearly benefit from having a caring adult visit them regularly, and Magda McCormick, the program’s School Coordinator says volunteer mentors often remark how they “look forward to their weekly visits as much as the students do!”

For students Power Lunch generates enthusiasm for books and reading, helps improve their fundamental literacy skills and increases their self-esteem. For volunteers, Power Lunch enables busy professionals to make a meaningful difference in the life of a child, and for the Morse, Power Lunch brings community support and resources into the life of the school. Literally as their name suggests, Everybody Wins!

To learn more visit www.ewmb.org.