Robotics Mentor to Refugee Youth

FORA Delivers cutting-edge High Impact Tutoring ("HIT") to more then 115 formerly pre-literate SLIFE (Students with Limited or Interrupted Formal Education) refugee students in grades K through 12 from Myanmar, Afghanistan, Syria, and Bhutan. The goal is to ensure that educational gaps are filled and that the students catch up to grade level. This is an unpaid volunteer position.

General Position Description: For 6th through 12th grade students, FORA runs a VEX Robotics program from late September through early March. The VEX Robotics curriculum emphasizes hands-on activities and incorporates their core values of creativity, teamwork, persistence, and quality. Students practice these values as they navigate the field of robotics and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math).

Students are split into groups, and each group builds their own robot. We are recruiting for robotics mentors to help students collaborate, problem solves, and compete with their creations!

Dates & Times: Our robotics program runs from mid fall to early spring, with Robotics sessions from 4:30pm-6:30pm and 7:00pm-9:00pm on Fridays.

Philosophy: We are a community, and we invest in each other every day. We want our volunteers to have robust experiences at FORA and to help them on their journey as they search for and discover their life calling. We elevate people who show talent and dedication, regardless of age or resume.

Location: The site of FORA’s empowerment center, 6435 N. California Ave, Chicago, IL, 60645. This is in the West Ridge neighborhood, known as one of the most diverse neighborhoods in the United States, with 43% of the population foreign-born, with 40 different languages spoken, and with more than 60% speaking a language other than English as their home language. It is a wonderful place to live or just to spend a semester.

Qualifications: Experience in robotics and/or coding is preferred. Our students participate in Vex Robotics. We value patience, kindness, wellness, intercultural connection, a passion for learning and a determined resilience... and modeling these values for others. All tutors must undergo a formal background check to work with the children.

Recommendations and Awards: If you meet the necessary criteria, FORA will award the FORA Community Award in lieu of the Presidential Volunteer Service Award. We also endeavor to truly get to know each of our volunteers so that upon completion of the program, we can write robust letters of recommendation for future jobs and grad school applications.