Mission

Seattle University Children's Literacy Project provides academic support and encouragement to children so that they may succeed and thrive in school. The children we serve face many learning challenges: low academic achievement, low self-esteem, unstable family situations, poverty, homelessness, poor school attendance, differences in culture, and learning disabilities. CLP tutors help mitigate these challenges by offering academic help and hope, and by being a positive presence in the lives of elementary and middle school students.

Though Children’s Literacy Project’s primary focus is helping children achieve academic and personal success, a further goal of CLP is to influence the lives and values of our SU volunteers, helping them to develop an ethic of civic engagement. Through volunteering, SU students gain the powerful experience of making a difference in the life of a child and the community. For many of our volunteers, this is their first exposure to working with low-income children in an ethnically diverse setting. Through volunteering, our SU students acquire a new understanding of service, patience, and compassion. Our training provides tutors with skills and knowledge about how to serve and tutor in schools with predominately low-income and ethnically diverse populations. We encourage our volunteers to examine any biases and assumptions they may bring to service, through dialogue and conversation.