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October 21, 2015  |  By Sarah In Spotlights

Meet the Staff: Tonia Carriger

Meet the Staff- Tonia Twitter

Each month, we’ll be introducing you to a new School on Wheels staff member so you can learn more about the people who make our programs run successfully! This month, we’ll highlight Tonia Carriger, one of our Program Coordinators who manages tutoring every evening at our partner locations and makes it all happen. Tonia became a Program Coordinator after winning our Tutor of the Year Award in 2014 – read on to learn more about her!

Tonia

What is your role at School on Wheels?
I am the Program Coordinator at The Julian Center and Greenbriar Elementary.

How does your role fit into the mission of School on Wheels?
I feel like I have a few roles within the organization – I’m a Program Coordinator, I still tutor every week and I also support our parents. All of these work to support the School on Wheels mission of one-on-one tutoring and academic advocacy for students – which is great, because these kiddos need all of the support we can give them.

What did you do before you came here?
Years ago I started out as a middle school teacher, then a high school teacher. After that, I became a trainer/project manager/business development for an educational technology non-profit.

2014 Tutor of the Year

Why did you decide to join the School on Wheels team?
I read about School on Wheels in an Indianapolis Star feature and was intrigued.  At the time, I was looking for another more meaningful way to support students, because I was winding down my time on a school board. I submitted my information on the website to volunteer, was trained and was totally hooked!

What’s your favorite thing about your job?
My favorite part of my job is being the stable but comforting constant in a student’s life – which means smiles, hugs, frustrations, grouchy moods and pouty faces – but when you can see the spark of a smile from a grouchy mood or a pouty face, it makes it all worth while!  My second favorite part is being a sounding board and support for parents.

What’s one thing that people would be surprised to know about you?
I don’t think I’m surprising in the least, but people might be surprised that I swim 3 mornings a week and solve most of the world’s problems as I do my laps (unfortunately, I forget most of the solutions by the time I finish!).

Can you share one of your favorite tutoring stories?
One of my favorite stories from tutoring: One day, I was trying to jazz up spelling and make it more hands-on for one of my struggling learners, so I brought in shaving cream so that she could practice her spelling words by writing them in shaving cream on the table.  It was so funny how students who had NOT had spelling words all year long, SUDDENLY had spelling words they needed to practice by writing them in shaving cream. It was too fun – the more the merrier!

If you could share one thing with those who are new to School on Wheels, what would it be?
I hope people understand that the little bit of time that they give to the kids makes a HUGE impact.  As a tutor, I didn’t see it, but as a Program Coordinator, I DO see how the kids look forward to seeing their tutors and spending time with them.

Want to learn more about ways that you can help support our students? RSVP today for our 2015 Education: Be the Solution to Childhood Trauma on 11/11 at Clowes Memorial Hall!

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School on Wheels’ mission is to provide one-on-one tutoring and educational advocacy for school-aged children impacted by homelessness.

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School on Wheels Corp is a 501(c)(3) under federal tax guidelines. | EIN: 35-2151003

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Advocate and Engage

Why is School on Wheels important to you? What role has education played in your life? When you tell your story and share your connection to School on Wheels, you can help your friends, family, and co-workers understand the complexities of family homelessness and give them the tools to be part of the solution, too.

Help us bring attention to the critical issue of family homelessness and help others learn how education can break the cycle of poverty and homelessness. We offer information and insight on our social platforms so be sure to follow along and engage with us online or offline.

Connect with us on social to help raise awareness and support for #SharetheLoveIndy and School on Wheels!

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Donate

Every dollar makes a difference. A gift that’s meaningful to you is meaningful to us and positively impacts our programs.

A one time $10 donation provides a week’s worth of incentive prizes at one site for kiddos who accomplish milestones. A monthly recurring donation of $10 adds up to provide a month’s worth of tutoring for one child, plus a week’s worth of after school snacks at one site!

Make a one time or recurring donation that’s right for you online or check out other ways to give to School on Wheels here.

Would you rather send a check or give over the phone? Contact Amber Ewing, VP of Development, at amber@indysow.org or 317.202.9100.

Attend Events

We have three February events that make doing good extra fun. Attend one or all three and bring your friends!

Sweat for School on Wheels
Shred 415 in Carmel
12:15 pm on  February 3
$20 per person. Email indy@shred415.com to claim your spot today.

100% of proceeds will support School on Wheels 

Shop for School on Wheels 
Kendra Scott at Keystone Fashion Mall
1-4 pm on February 9

20% of proceeds will support School on Wheels

Sip for School on Wheels
Sun King downtown
6-9 pm on  February 25

$1 of each pint will support School on Wheels

Find full event details on our Facebook Events page. RSVP and invite your friends.

Create a Facebook Fundraiser

Anyone can set up a #SharetheLoveIndy Facebook fundraiser for School on Wheels! It’s more involved than adding a donate button to a post, but it’s still simple and is so much more impactful. Click the video above to learn how to create a Facebook fundraiser on your desktop or follow the steps below to get started!

  1. Open Facebook and select Fundraisers from the column to the left of your newsfeed.
  2. Click “Raise Money”
  3. Now choose “School on Wheels Indianapolis” from the non profit category.
  4. Choose how much you want to raise and when you want your fundraiser to end.
  5. Now you get to name your fundraiser and tell your story! Share why you chose the goal you did and why you care about School on Wheels. People give to people and your story will motivate your friends to support your goal.
  6. Finally, select the School on Wheels photo you want as your cover photo, click create and you’re ready to go.

Our video above will walk you through all the steps. If you need help crafting your message or creating your fundraiser, contact Claire Brosman at claire@indysow.org or 317.202.9100. Good luck!