Shine Turns Three!

On September 20, 2013, Shine Learning Services launched as a small for-profit business providing academic testing and assistance in the Portland metro area. The goal was to eventually incorporate as a non-profit. On September 21, 2017, with a small team of dedicated board members, Shine Learning Services officially incorporated as a non-profit with the goal that students of all ages and backgrounds receive the services they need, regardless of their ability to pay.

As we celebrate 3 years as a non-profit organization, we reflect on our journey and look forward to our future. 

What We’ve Been Up To …

In June 2020, we began compensating one of our volunteers, who had previously been giving of her time generously and without pay. At this time, Shine has three employees. It is these three employees who have worked numerous hours to provide client services. We are thankful for so many that believe in and generously support our efforts to meet student needs. With COVID-19, distance schooling, and the recent fires, we continue to have many requests for services. We continue to consider creative and sustainable ways we can increase our ability to assist more families and students, especially during a time of job loss and uncertainty.

Even with disruptions like COVID-19, our employees and volunteers are very busy! Here’s a chart showing their interactions from January to August of 2020. Interactions include a wide variety of activities such as: assessing, teaching, coaching parents and teachers, collaborating with parents and schools, and much, much more!

Things That Made Us Smile

It is our pleasure to hear and share Ian’s dyslexia story. Ian just began 7th grade and graduated from tutoring last year. Thank you for sharing your story, Ian!

When did you find out you are dyslexic?

 

I was in first grade when I found out I was dyslexic. I asked my mom, “What is that?” She explained that in my case it made it harder for me to read and write, and that it was an actual disability. I didn’t really like it.

 

How do you feel about having dyslexia? If you could tell anyone anything about dyslexia, what would it be?

 

It’s not a curse. It’s a gift. When I first learned I had it, it felt like my life was going to be a bunch of crap. I hated that it took me longer than everybody else to do reading and writing and stuff like that. When I started tutoring, I didn’t like it at all. It wasn’t any fun. It was right after school, and I didn’t really connect with my first tutor. One day I came home complaining about my dyslexia and how I was so much worse than everybody else. My mom had been on Instagram and said, “Ian, come over here.” And I was like, what now? But it’s my mom, so I had to listen to her. I went over and asked, “What?” And she pulled up a video and it showed me famous people that were dyslexic. That list included Albert Einstein, Leonardo De Vinci, a bunch of actors, and many other famous people. So, that’s what started me thinking that it’s not so bad after all. Eventually, I just got attached to my goals in life so I had to believe that it was a gift. And since then my grades have gone up, and I’m doing way better in school.

 

My advice to parents…

 

Let your child work at their own pace. If there’s an assignment, don’t push them and push them to get it done as long as they’re getting most of their stuff turned in on time.

Resilience During a Pandemic

We all know that 2020 has been a difficult year because of COVID-19 (as well as the smoke from the wildfires at the time of this writing). For some of our clients, there are additional stresses and pressures that make pandemic-learning even harder.

One of our teachers and board members, Dee Ann Hutchins, has been working with a student that has gone through a lot over the past year. During the time that Dee Ann has worked with this student, the student has faced continual adjustments to her parent’s ongoing divorce. Not only that, but she suffered the loss of a dear grandmother after a battle with cancer, and the death of a family pet shortly after her grandmother’s death. While dealing with the day to day challenges of life and school during a pandemic, the family was also displaced from their home for 11 weeks due to water damage. During this time, they lived out of a hotel. 

Despite these challenges, this student has shown remarkable resilience! Dee Ann recalls, “I have seen her rise up and accept the challenges of reading head-on during our Zoom sessions. She shows up ready with a bright smile, with her tools at hand, and can-do spirit. I have picked some more difficult books for us to work on this summer and we have read them together. Taking turns reading, learning difficult words, and working through challenges have developed even more resilience in her. Several times throughout the summer we went over our time as she wanted to keep working (LOVE THIS!) and if she was still working beyond that, she would send me pictures of her completed work. She has shown me how much she values her work by going beyond my expectations, and I have seen such a sense of accomplishment as she looks back through her writing.”  

Why is Shine important for this student right now? The answer is easy for Dee Ann to answer: “I see our work together as a place of positive connection, where she can shine! We have developed a great working relationship, but beyond that, I see her as an over-comer where I am her cheerleader and she is the champion! As she has endured some really tough months, it was important to me that her work with me did not suffer a set-back. I am so grateful to be a part of an organization that puts the needs of our most vulnerable clients first.”

Will you join us in supporting students like this one discover and develop their learning potential?  

Ways to Support Shine

There are many ways to help support Shine during this time, and we are thankful for any support given. It is because of YOU and your incredible generosity that we are able to do the work we do. 

  • View our Amazon wishlist here

  • Leave a review on our Facebook page here

  • Donate directly via the button below

  • Every time you use your Fred Meyer loyalty card, you can earn points for yourself and Shine Learning Services! Registering only takes a few clicks here. Our organization number is QN636. Thank you!

Do you have a passion for serving an organization like Shine? Do you have talents in donor development and fundraising? The Shine Board is looking into strategies for sustainable funding for our programs and would love your help. Please e-mail board member Justin Botejue at justin@shinelearning.org with your interest!

Events

Thank you to those that participated in and supported our first Shine Read-A-Thon. We are thankful for you! 

In the upcoming weeks, we hope to be announcing some exciting possibilities for students to connect and learn with each other!

With so much happening in our world these days, how can we not highlight our friends at The Brain Breakthrough. If you are not familiar with Jessi and her team, we encourage you to check them out.