Project to aid students dropped

Jennifer Kho

WESTSIDE -- Plans to open a new learning center at the Someone Cares

Soup Kitchen have been scrapped, at least for now.

The center, a collaboration between the kitchen and Think Together,

which oversees the Shalimar Learning Center, was scheduled to open Feb.

26 but was delayed because staff members were unable to finish a contract

detailing the commitments of both organizations and to gather all the

necessary paperwork and fingerprints from volunteers.

Think Together and soup kitchen staff members have finished completing

all the volunteer paperwork, but the boards of both nonprofit groups were

unable to agree on a contract, Shalimar Learning Center Executive

Director Laura Johnson said Friday.

Two new centers could arise from the ashes of the now-defunct plan,

however.

Think Together has decided to open a learning center at Pomona

Elementary School in April, and the soup kitchen also plans to open its

own learning center, Johnson said.

“It’s just that the two nonprofits had different visions of what the

program was going to look like,” she said. “It is not that we are going

to be competing. We certainly want the soup kitchen to open a learning

center because there are certainly enough kids.”

The Pomona Elementary School learning center is limiting its

enrollment to only the neediest students, for now, and has 40 children

signed up so far, said Julie McCormick, principal at Pomona Elementary

School.

Johnson said breaking one proposed learning center into two has an

advantage.

“Some parents were not willing or able to make the trek across town,

so it’s good that we’re going to be able to help them there at the

school,” Johnson said.

McCormick said the new center at Pomona Elementary School will be

almost exactly the same as the Shalimar Learning Center.

Shalimar provides tutoring and academic help for Westside students in

first through 12th grades.

“Wherever we can meet the kids’ needs, we’ll take it,” McCormick said.

“Their needs are homework assistance and remedial reading, so we’re

focusing on those things. Many parents say they can’t help their kids

with English, so this is a great need and a great wish for them.”

The collaborative learning center at the soup kitchen was going to

have the bonus of providing the children with a snack during the tutoring

session and a meal to take home, but the program at Pomona Elementary

School will not include the food.

More than 70 volunteers had signed up to help tutor at the

collaborative center. Johnson said they have been redirected to the

Pomona Elementary School learning center and will have the option of

volunteering at the soup kitchen when it opens its learning center.

McCormick said she is very pleased that the community is so willing to

help.

No Someone Cares Soup Kitchen representative was available to comment

by press time.