Barbara Thomas

“When third-grader Destiny comes running up to Barbara Thomas in the playground at Malcolm X Academy, there is no doubt that something special is going on,” begins a profile of the longtime Experience Corps member in the San Francisco BayView newspaper. “Thomas gets a big hug from the sweet-faced student and when Destiny is asked about the hug, she says simply, ‘Mrs. Thomas is my friend.’”

The article, by Arlene Silverman, recounts how Thomas first started volunteering at Malcolm X through her church, which was part of a national effort called “One Church One School,” which encourages church members to take on the important job of “teaching the value of life and the value of learning,” particularly to African-American students.

“Thomas did not just volunteer, however. She became a member of Experience Corps, a national organization that recruits adults 55-plus to work one-on-one with students struggling with reading or other basic skills like math and writing,” Silverman writes. “In San Francisco alone, there are over 80 Experience Corps members in schools throughout the city. Thomas not only volunteers in the classroom herself, but coordinates the activities of the other Experience Corps members.”