This poster from the 1970’s encourages students at Cal Poly Humboldt to volunteer with Tutorial.

In honor of YES’s upcoming 50th Anniversary in Fall 2018, we are putting a spotlight on the great things that YES programs are up to this semester!

The oldest program at YES is Study Buddies. Volunteers of this program tutor youth in the local community! They currently have 9 passionate volunteers and two directors, Mike Magana and Emily Policarpo, that tutor elementary aged kids at Pacific Union Elementary School, Trillium Charter School, Jefferson Community Center, and Union Street Charter. 

Study Buddies was originally established under the name Tutorial before YES was even an established organization! Tutorial was so successful, having hundreds of volunteers tutoring youth in Arcata, Eureka, Manila, and McKinleyville, that its student leaders decided to form the Youth Educational Services in 1968, with Tutorial being one of its programs.

Since its beginnings in the 1960s, Study Buddies has been making positive impacts in the lives of its volunteers and participants in the program. Study Buddies director, Mike Magana, describes his experiences with the program as positive because he has been able to see the growth and perseverance in many of the youth that he has worked with. A special moment for him was when he had the opportunity to work with a child at the Jefferson Community Center and was able to help them raise their grade in a difficult class up to a B!