AXA Advisors Step out of the office to help in the classroom.
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to help in a classroom?
December 10, 2010
I think that many of us have a fear of stepping into a classroom. Do I have the background? Can I communicate with kids? Can I really help?
The employees of AXA Advisors overcame any fear of the classroom to spend a day this past December at Audubon Elementary assisting fifth- and sixth-grade classes in the science lab.
AXA Advisors has a great corporate culture that involves its employees with the community. But, what is the company’s motivation for sending employees out of the office? According to AXA employee Heather West,
| “Through the AXA Day of Service volunteer projects, AXA people nationwide add their sweat equity to AXA Equitable’s commitment to investing in the successful future of our customers, employees and financial professionals.” |
AXA employees not only spent the day at Audubon, The AXA Foundation backed up their time commitment with a generous $3000 contribution to the Lake Washington Schools Foundation.
AXA Advisors Presenting a Check for $3000 to the |
Was this just a feel good field trip for the employees at AXA? I got a chance to watch as the AXA employees worked with the kids. The AXA employees hit the ground running and made a big impact on the Audubon kids. As Audubon principal Karen Dickens noted,
| We were impressed by how quickly the AXA folks jumped right in to work with the students. Their dedication and commitment was obvious by how attentive and supportive they were to the children. It was fun to watch the students and the adults create fast partnerships and strong connections. |
Did the kids really learn and benefit by having the interaction with the AXA adults? Was the presence of all these new people just a distraction? Some pretty good evidence of the student benefit came from Monique Celeste, the fifth grade science teacher,
| Students were excited and thankful about having one-to-one assistance on their science projects. For instance, one of the volunteers helped a fifth grader create a pendulum system using the student’s ideas and limited classroom resources on the spot! Not only was the student thankful, but both the student and the volunteer were amazed at the creativity and resourcefulness they came up with as a team. The next day, many students asked if the volunteers would be back as they had enjoyed working on challenging projects and had fun working with such wonderful new friends. |
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One of the best parts of the day was seeing the impact on the AXA employees. I think many of them were reliving some of their time in elementary school. After the day, AXA employee Heather West told me,
“The students' creativity, enthusiasm and aptitude was great to see and fun to be a part of. It is fantastic they are getting so much exposure and so many positive experiences with science. You could tell they were really enjoying the process and what they were learning.” |
Volunteers in the classroom can leave a lasting impression on the students. Teacher Monique Celeste received good feedback from the kids.
| The next day, many students asked if the volunteers would be back as they had enjoyed working on challenging projects and had fun working with such wonderful new friends. |
Are you intrigued? Lake Washington Schools Foundation has a great program to help connect volunteers with classrooms. The LINKS program (Looking into the Needs of Kids and Schools) recruits and places community volunteers in LWSD schools, including those in the Kirkland, Redmond and Sammamish communities. For more information about LINKS, please visit the LINKS web site or send email to info@lwsf.org if you too would like to help mentor kids!
For more information on AXA Advisors click here.