OASES was formed in 1983 by a small group of students from U.C. Berkeley who grew up around the Oakland Chinatown area. Our original group of volunteers believed in the need to increase educational and social support for immigrant youth in Oakland. Steadily the Volunteer Program grew from a small group of volunteers to a large team of 200+ volunteers per semester. Today, OASES continues to train and recruit volunteers from UC Berkeley, and recently expand to Laney Community college to make up the biggest volunteer force in any after school program of the Oakland Unified School District. LEAP and Quest provides academic assistance in a variety of subjects, with a specific focus on literacy and math with an effectively low tutor to student ratio of 1:1 to 1:4. OASES Volunteers play and bond with the students during recess. Afterwards, Volunteers tutor students during Homework Hour. Tutor 2nd-5th graders Time: Monday-Thursday 4-6pm Student-to-tutor ratio: 1:1 to 4:1 Up to 35 volunteers per day Providing academic support from Monday through Thursday, LEAP reserves all of Friday for Enrichment Workshops. OASES Volunteers help students learn new skills and completes activities that often are not offered during the school day. In another year, the LEAP 5th graders will enter Middle School, where they will no longer be the biggest or oldest kids. The experience is daunting, but exciting at the same time. Friday Mentorship will prepare our future leaders for Middle School and beyond. Example of weekly themes include college preparation, conflict resolution and peer leadership. Volunteers are currently being recruited from UC Berkeley and Laney Community College. If you are interested in becoming a volunteer, please contact Volunteer Program Manager, Geraldine Ah-sue at Geraldine@oases.org or (510)891-9928 ext. 103 for more information. Check out our volunteer blog