Change a Life — One Hour at a Time The ARK Educational Resource Center in Laurel Needs You

Somewhere in Laurel, Delaware, a student is struggling. Maybe it’s a third-grader stuck on fractions. Maybe it’s a ninth-grader who has fallen behind in reading and is starting to wonder whether school is even worth it. The ARK Educational Resource Center exists for that student — and right now, the ARK is looking for volunteers like you to make the difference.

The ARK’s mission is straightforward and powerful: keep students in school who might otherwise fall through the cracks. Located at 208 E. Front Street in Laurel, the ARK provides counseling, mentoring, tutoring, college and career planning, and personal enrichment to disadvantaged youth from kindergarten through twelfth grade. They serve the whole student — not just the grade on a report card.

Becoming a volunteer tutor requires just one to two hours per week, with flexible scheduling between 3:00 and 7:00 PM. You don’t have to be a certified teacher. You just have to care. Tutors work one-on-one with students in math and reading — the two foundational skills that shape everything else in a child’s academic future. In return, you gain valuable mentoring experience, sharpen your own skills, earn community service hours, and receive letters of recommendation.

But the real reward is simpler than any of that. It’s the moment a student who has been struggling finally gets it — and looks up at you with the kind of confidence that was not there before. That moment is what the ARK is built on. That moment is what you can be part of.

Sussex County has extraordinary needs and extraordinary people. If you have an hour or two to give each week, the ARK has a student who needs you. Contact the ARK today at 302-715-5318, visit www.arkeducation.org, or email Thearkadvantage@comcast.net. One hour. One student. One life changed.