With New York City schools having shifted to remote learning, CIANA has also launched online tutoring to continue to meet the academic needs of our youngest clients. We want to spotlight one of our volunteer tutors, Erlina Cahyadi, and her dedication to CIANA and our tutoring students whom she works with.
Erlina decided to continue volunteering at CIANA despite tutoring being shifted to an online setting because of her appreciation for our programs and our mission as a whole. "I love that despite the difficulties of today, we are still pushing through to help these students when they need help the most.”
Making a difference in the community is the most important aspect of volunteering to Erlina, and she has maintained a positive attitude, which both students and parents look for and appreciate. “I love knowing that I am making a difference in their [the students'] lives by contributing to the growth of their cognitive and social development."
Erlina's experience with CIANA has been an extremely positive one. “The staff are really kind and you can tell that they really care. The kids are all really sweet and intelligent --- they can be a challenge sometimes, but that doesn’t stop me from wanting to come back again the next week.”
Erlina told us that a memorable experience she has had with CIANA is the feeling of “being wanted.” Expanding on her touching reply, she says, “I’ve gotten to work with some of the kids multiple times because they or their parents really like me as their tutor.”
What makes CIANA's tutoring sessions so special and invaluable is the amount of dedication and loyalty from all of our volunteers, which pays off for the kids and the tutors themselves. “It feels good knowing that my work and contributions are appreciated and wanted."
Thank you to Erlina and all of our volunteers for their passion, dedication, and drive to make our online tutoring sessions work so well. We share our gratitude for everything you have done so far and will continue to do.