York’s

1. York University’s York SOS: Students Offering Support is a chapter of the national charitable organization Students Offering Support. We are 100% volunteer-run. York’s York SOS: Students Offering Support has ambitious goals for the 2008-2009 academic year Our mission: To implement responsible, sustainable education projects in developing countries while helping our local peers achieve their academic goals. • If you want to get involved, make an impact, or simply find out more, visit us at How instructors can help: Give us permission to run Exam-AIDs for your class. They are proven to supplement your teaching and bolster students’ skills and confidence in the subtleties of the subject, and are a great cause. “What [National Director] Grey [Overholt] has done here is a really commendable thing. I think it is a real assistance to students if they take it the right way, if they don’t see it as a way to rely on someone else to help them.” – Prof. Alan Marshall @ Laurier Raising Marks How students can help: Get involved as a Course Director or a general volunteer. If you are academically excellent, become a Tutor. York SOS allows you to work with a national charitable organization and gain valuable experience for employment or future studies, including teacher’s college. • York SOS chapter: • ww.yorksos.com • National SOS network: • www.canadasos.org • Or email us at: • info@yorksos.com Raising Money “I’ve always loved teaching: the passion you feel, the rush you get when you teach. I wanted to contribute on a bigger scale… You’re amazed by the amount of kids that come out and the amount of help you can provide.” – Ian Hutchinson @ Laurier Raising Roofs York University’s York University’s

2. Raising Money Raising Marks Raising Roofs Our model: Upper-year students volunteer to run EXAM-AID group study sessions for first- and second-year courses. They provide students with an intensive review of course material, study tips and advice, common pitfalls, areas of emphasis and a study package with practice questions; and all this with a student perspective. Where the money comes from: Students attending Exam AIDs are asked for a $20 donation. With several hundred students attending per term, we are looking to raise $6 000 in the fall semester alone. Other chapters of SOS have already raised over $130 000 in three years. Where the money goes: The tens of thousands of dollars raised annually by SOS go straight into education projects in developing countries. Other chapters have built educational facilities in Honduras, Belize, Jamaica , and others Responsible development: SOS is built on the core principle of “teaching a man to fish.” SOS chapters go only where they are wanted. We work with grassroots community organizations in both planning and implementation. Resources and labor are purchased in the project community, injecting as much capital as possible. How it is distributed: With virtually no overhead or administrative costs, circa 80% of our revenue is funneled directly into development projects. 10% of its goes back to the national umbrella organizations. Students Offering Support for the purpose of supporting nascent chapters across Canada. Supplementation: Exam-AIDs are meant to supplement course material and review provided by instructors, not substitute it. We only run EXAM-AIDs with the explicit consent of the course instructors. Students benefit from upper-year students’ perspective on exam structure, time management and helpful study strategies. How it works: York SOS volunteers decided on a location for a summer volunteer project, the plan it in conjunction with that community. We then take a trip, participate in building a project and implementing sustainability strategies, and return home with a fresh vision for the future. How we do this: York SOS is fully volunteer run, so we pay no wages. All the facilities and equipment we need (i.e. space and projection technology for Exam-AIDS) are available through York University at no cost. The numbers: SOS chapters in Canada tutored about 2 000 students in SOS’s three initial years. York SOS will reach at least 400 different students this year. Successes: Students have great feedback to share with us on their Exam-AID evaluations, but we are also always improving and reinventing with strategies. Our tutors never stop looking for new ways to enhance students’ grasp of course material. “They were well organized and gave more thorough explanations of things we learned in class. My marks definitely increased by taking advantage of the sessions. I attended both the business cram sessions and the economics cram sessions because they were really that helpful!” – Tom Henderson @ Laurier Dozens of students fine-tune their economics skills at a fall Exam-AID SOS efforts save a schoolhouse in Belize York University’s York University’s York University’s