Mentoring

Asian American Tutorial Project
Description: Since 1969, the Asian Education Project (AEP), now known as the Asian American Tutorial Project (AATP), has gone to Castelar Elementary School in Los Angeles Chinatown to tutor immigrant children in the hopes of providing them with the skills and guidance necessary to assimilate into mainstream society and to gain access to a higher education. AATP has been at the forefront of the movement to meet the pressing educational needs of the immigrant youth population of the Chinatown community.  
Upcoming Projects: We have 3 Quarter Sessions throughout the school year: Fall, Winter, and Spring Sessions.
Website:www-scf.usc.edu/~aatp
Contact Info:aatp@usc.edu

Meeting Time/Location: Saturdays 9:20am, Denny’s at UV

Best Buddies
Description: Best Buddies is a non-profit organization dedicated to enhancing the lives of people with intellectual disabilities by providing opportunities for one-to-one friendships.  Here at our chapter, we pair USC students with intellectually disabled students at a local high school; we visit our buddy a few times a month and hold monthly group events.
Websites: www.bestbuddies.org, http://www.bestbuddiesonline.org
Organization Contact Info: uscbestbuddies@gmail.com

Organization Info: Lisa Verzemnieks, Membership Coordinator, verzemni@usc.edu or Heldine Aguiluz, College Buddy Director, aguiluz@usc.edu

Educational Doctorate Student Assembly

EDSA is a student organization in the Rossier School of Education implemented to create community among doctoral students preparing to become scholarly practitioners and change agents in the field of education.

Website: http://uscedsa.blogspot.com/

Contact: uscedsa@gmail.com

Joint Educational Project

Definition: Founded in 1972, JEP is one of the oldest and largest service-learning programs in the country, offering students at the University of Southern California the unique opportunity to combine academic coursework with experiences in the community surrounding the campus. Each year, thousands of students from over several courses receive academic credit for their participation in JEP. In addition, about 400 students serve as non-credit volunteers and share their time and special talents with their neighbors.
Website: http://www.usc.edu/dept/LAS/jep/
Contact info: jephouse@usc.edu

National Youth Sports Program
Description: This program is sponsored by Recreational Sports. Now in its 41st year, the National Youth Sports Program (NYSP) continues to strive to meet the needs of the Los Angeles inner-city community. The program provides summer experiences in sports instruction, fitness, nutrition, citizenship and sportsmanship for economically disadvantaged children ages nine to 15. To enhance the NYSP experience, youngsters also participate in an education component which includes math and science, college preparatory sessions and more. Paid staff positions are available and the application process begins in mid-April.
Website: www.usc.edu/recsports
Contact Info: recsports@usc.edu

Project Books and Blankies
Description: Project Books and Blankies is a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. This literacy organization is dedicated to the proposition that no skill is more critical to the success of individuals, or our collective success as a community, than the ability to read. With a goal of spreading the magic of reading, Project Books and Blankies, provides books to shelters, literacy programs, after school programs, classrooms, libraries, and the needy. In addition to providing books, deliveries include the donation of a bright and colorful handmade quilt, either for display in the reading corner, or for the kids to snuggle with while reading.
Website: http://www.booksandblankies.com/
Contact Info: booksandblankies@gmail.com

Spirits In Action
Description: Spirits in Action, Celebrating Students with Disabilities, hosts a track and field competition similar to Special Olympics events. We invite over 300 athletes with mental and physical disabilities from the greater Los Angeles area, involve twice as many USC and committee volunteers, and depend on the generosity of sponsors every year to put this day of fun, food, and competition. When athletes are not competing, they enjoy games, performers and music in Spirit City, our carnival area. This memorable service brings both athletes and volunteers year after year.  
Upcoming Projects: Spirits In Action on April 25th 9 am to 2 pm
Website: http://www-scf.usc.edu/~spirits/home.htm
Contact Info: uscspirits@gmail.com

Trojan Heath Volunteers
Description: Trojan Health Volunteers gives pre-health students the opportunity to obtain valuable experience in a number of different hospital and clinical settings. Students gain hands-on experience while witnessing the various aspects of medicine. Volunteers also have the chance to receive letters of recommendation from the program director.
Website: http://www.usc.edu/dept/LAS/jep/jep/thv.htm
Contact Info: jephouse@usc.edu

Troy Camp
Description: USC Troy Camp gives children in the local community opportunities they would not otherwise have had.  Every year USC student volunteers take 3rd-5th grade kids from the local community to a completely free summer camp experience.  From riding horses to getting swimming lessons to seeing stars outside of the city, most of these children experience their first time away from home and their first time in the beauty of the wilderness.   
The entire next year, Troy Camp takes these students on events around LA centered around fun (i.e. Disneyland), mentorship (i.e. career day), and education (i.e. museums and aquariums). Troy Camp also has programs for middle schoolers and high schoolers!
Website: www.troycamp.org
Contact Info: troycamp@usc.edu

Women and Youth Supporting Each Other (WYSE)
Description: The mission of WYSE is to provide middle school girls with the resources and support necessary to make informed decisions about their relationships, sexuality and futures, and to create community change. WYSE mentors facilitate group sessions as well as individually mentor middle school females at one of two local middle schools. WYSE is designed to educate young women and encourage them to make healthy decisions on their own. In addition, the organization works to create a cohesive team of mentors that supports one another as they support their mentees.
Website: http://web-app.usc.edu/scampus/volunteer-opportunities/
Contact Info: wyse@usc.edu

Youth Exploring Passion
Description: The mission of Youth Exploring Passion is to impact the lives of pregnant teenagers and teenaged mothers by providing each with USC student mentor, who is to facilitate the discovery of each mentee´s academic and career-related passions. The organization visits Thomas Riley High School (a high school exclusively for pregnant and parenting teens) every Friday and conducts weekly activities. The activities range from instructing the students on how to get a job or apply to college to self-esteem building games and goal-setting projects. In addition to meeting with her mentee, or Tiger, each Friday, each USC mentor takes her Tiger on explorations and exposures throughout Los Angeles in order to introduce her to new academic and career paths as well as new hobbies and passions.
Website: http://yepusc.webs.com/index.htm
Organization Contact Info: yepusc@gmail.com
Executive directors: Beth Thorne (310) 892-2384, ethorne@usc.edu and Claire Villard (619) 850-8642, villard@usc.edu