Travel Tips

Voluntourism Spotlight: Communities in Schools

Locations in this article:  Las Vegas, NV

Last week, we showed you how you can help students succeed around world with Pencils of Promise. This week, is all about what you can do to help right at home at the U.S. We’re spotlighting Communities in Schools, which has branches across the country devoted to helping at-risk children succeed academically. We’re focusing on the work of the Nevada branch, where you can volunteer when you travel to Las Vegas. Tune into Peter Greenberg Worldwide coming from the Aria City Center this weekend to learn more about the organization and how it works.

For the last 30 years, Communities In Schools (CIS) has been working to bring community resources inside a public school building, where they can best reach those in need. Striving to be accessible, coordinated and accountable, the organization has become the United States’ leading dropout prevention organization.

As of 2013, 5,000 professionals in 25 states have assisted vulnerable students in the most dropout-prone school districts.

To date nearly 1.3 million young people have been helped in more than 3,400 schools.

On a local level in Nevada,  94 students drop out of school every school day. In fact, fewer than 62 percent of Nevada’s high school students graduate; less than 1 in 3 minority students graduate.

Volunteers help with a variety of the organization’s efforts. They can work at the CIS Academy, where students learn behavioral strategies and life skills that are key to success. In addition, they can support hunger prevention efforts. CIS Nevada has Resources Centers that provide families with food, clothing, school supplies, and hygiene packs.

If you’re looking to give back with resources and not time, the organization collects school supplies to give to students at the beginning of each year

To volunteer for a long or short-term opportunity, fill out a Volunteer Application Form.Then, call the office for 702-770-7611 for more information.

By Lily J. Kosner for PeterGreenberg.com