CHAT volunteers tutor children

A cacophony greeted visitors the second they entered the door, as raucous yells and laughter filled the air. Children were running, spinning around and air-dribbling basketballs. And then suddenly, the room quieted as the evening's activities began with a Bible passage. The children listened attentively, and then were asked to think about how the reading applied to their lives.

One of those children was Tim Lynch, who likes the Miami Heat, Lebron James, homemade tacos and professional wrestling, he said. These interests are evidenced by his backpack, which features several World Wrestling Entertainment stars. Lynch is shy, and talked little at the outset of the session. Fortunately, junior Jed Antoun knows a bit about wrestling as well, which made the introduction go more smoothly.

Lynch, 10, a member of the Church Hill Activities and Tutoring program, or CHAT, and Antoun, Lynch's tutor, got off to a quick start. They eventually got down to work on Lynch's assignment for the day, a reading and questions on the Underground Railroad, in honor of Black History Month. Despite Lynch's shyness, he and Antoun were laughing at math problems like old friends by the end of the session.

"Tim was a cool kid," Antoun said. He was happy to get Lynch to open up despite not having worked with him before, he said.

Antoun is a member of the fraternity Sigma Phi Epsilon, which is just one of the many organizations at the University of Richmond, both Greek and non-Greek, involved with the tutoring program. Sigma Phi Epsilon became involved with the program in the fall at the suggestion of fraternity member Michael Rogers, a 2011 Richmond graduate, said Colin Billings, the main contact person between CHAT and the fraternity. Rogers first volunteered with CHAT as a student and is now a full-time intern with the organization, Billings said.

The university's initial involvement with CHAT can be traced back to Murray Withrow, a 2006 graduate. Withrow was a Bonner Scholar who began volunteering with CHAT in 2002, the same year the tutoring program was started. Withrow, who is now employed full time by CHAT as their after-school director, said he had still kept in touch with the organizations he had been involved in at Richmond, such as the Bonner program and InterVarsity.

"I still feel very connected to the university," Withrow said. "It's definitely an intentional thing on my part...to keep a base of volunteers." He said that other campus groups, including sororities and the Umoja Gospel Choir, also had volunteered over the years.

Freshman Bonner Scholar Lauren Taflinger said CHAT tried to develop children not just as students, but as people learning life skills, something that drew her to the program.

Senior Ryan Soos, a member of Sigma Phi Epsilon, tutored with CHAT last semester and said that the program had made an impact on him, and he hoped that he had effected some long-term good for his students. "It's not what I take away from it, I think it's more what the kids take away from what I am trying to give them," he said.

Tutors said that their time with the program had made them think about the affluence disparity between the University of Richmond community and the students they tutor.

"I think there's a tendency to assume that kids that are underprivileged...aren't motivated or don't value their education," Taflinger said. "But since I've been with CHAT, it's great to see the kids that are always asking questions. It's great to see the stereotypes that are broken."

Senior Roger Mancusi, another Sigma Phi Epsilon member who volunteered with CHAT last semester, said that tutoring had made him value the privileges of his Richmond education. "We are sort of very privileged as Richmond students," he said, "and it's cool to try to give back to these kids to help them get themselves to a better situation."

Contact reporter Casey Glick at casey.glick@richmond.edu