Outreach Rooted in Our Community
Math mentorship helps aboriginal children
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Melania Alvarez, an SFU doctoral student in education and the B.C. education coordinator at the Pacific Institute for the Mathematical Sciences (PIMS), created a free math mentorship program for aboriginal students, which is sponsored by PIMS. She and SFU senior math lecturer Veselin Jungic started the after-school program at the Vancouver Aboriginal Friendship Centre (VAFC), a cultural, educational and recreational gathering place for aboriginal residents in the Downtown Eastside. The PIMS/SFU math mentorship program welcomes all aboriginal children living near the VAFC. So far, more than 50 children have received help from Alvarez, Jungic and 14 other SFU faculty, student and staff volunteers who work one-on-one with children for an hour and a half twice a week, using games, workbooks and conversation. This year, they raised $1,100 to buy each child a workbook from the Singapore math series.