VECINOS UNIDOS COMPLETES 20th YEAR HELPING HERNDON STUDENTS

Vecinos Unidos, a non-profit 501(c)3 organization, is completing its 20th year helping Herndon students in grades one through six with homework and additional academics after school. The all-volunteer organization focuses on reading, writing, and math, to help bring students up to grade-level achievement by establishing good patterns of homework completion and, if no homework has been assigned, by additional academic practice.

“It is our honor to work with these great kids,” says Andrea Ciecierski, Vecinos Unidos president. “They are wonderful, bright children whose parents recognize the importance of education. Since many of the parents are not fluent English speakers and aren’t able to help with homework, they bring their students to us. We are thrilled to help.”

Vecinos Unidos volunteers, who range in age from 16 through retirees, devote one 90-minute afterschool period each week to work with our students at the Herndon Neighborhood Resource Center.

New in this 2017-18 school year, Vecinos Unidos—in conjunction with the Literacy Council of Northern Virginia—began offering English as a Second Language classes for interested parents in addition to our work with their children.

Vecinos Unidos is one of the partner organizations of Connections for Hope, an initiative of Cornerstones (formerly Reston Interfaith), a multi-layered non-profit promoting self-sufficiency and advocating for those in need. To best serve our students, we hold informal parent meetings twice each year. We also communicate with the students’ teachers as appropriate.

For more information about volunteering with Vecinos Unidos, please contact volunteer@VecinosUnidos.org. Our 2018-19 school year begins September 4. We provide volunteer training.