Every Thursday night Neha Gavai devotes her time to tutoring children. She helps elementary students practice their writing, complete their math homework, even learn the English language. Even though Gavai isn’t paid for her time, she feels amply rewarded.##M:[more]##
Gavai, 16, is one of over 20 students from West Windsor and Plainsboro who volunteer for A2Z Mentoring Program, a non-profit organization that has been operating in Mercer County since 2004. The program reaches out to less fortunate families and provides tutoring services for free. As a mentor, Gavai interacts with children, bringing them education as well as enjoyment, hoping that both will lead them to success.
The A2Z Mentoring Program strives to raise literacy levels and improve subject skills for elementary and middle school students, hoping to increase their chances of graduating from high school and going to college. Working in areas such as East Windsor and Hightstown, the program also provides the adult community with language assistance, teaching them to read, write, and speak English.
As student president of A2Z, Gavai spends a great deal of her time organizing program events as well as recruiting new volunteers. It is during her weekly tutoring sessions however, where she finds the greatest reward.
“I really like to work with kids,” Gavai says. “That is what makes this so much fun.”
Like many high school students, Gavai first began her volunteer work in the library where she could obtain volunteer hours for college. Now, as a part of the A2Z program, she has an opportunity to do volunteer work that she truly enjoys while bonding with the children.
“At the start of every session I talk with the students and ask them about their lives, how was their school day and how are they doing,” says Gavai. “I never start out asking them to be quiet and take out their work.”
Since becoming involved in the mentoring program, Gavai believes in doing something not for the reward of it, but because it will benefit others. “A lot of the families we tutor are not as fortunate as we are,” Gavai explains. “Many of the parents can’t afford a tutor for their children.”
Though her parents moved to the United States 20 years ago from India, Gavai and her brother Nikhil, a seventh grader at Grover Middle School, were born and raised in America. Currently living in Plainsboro, she realizes how fortunate she and her family are.
“We live good lives here, and it is important to be aware of that,” she says.
Her father, Ashvin Gavai, is a researcher at Bristol-Meyers Squibb. Her mother, Mebah, is a pediatrician with a practice in East Brunswick and Highland Park. Gavai believes a lot of her desire to work with children comes from seeing her mother do it.
She recalls traveling with her mother as a young child to hospitals in the area where she would check on newborn patients. “I loved watching my mom take care of her patients,” Gavai says. “I knew I wanted to help children too.”
A student at High School South, Gavai is also involved in Pirate Players, a student organization that provides plays and skits to elementary school students teaching them how to fight peer pressure.
“The plays are funny and the kids really enjoy them,” she says. Gavai is also on the tennis team and is a member of Model United Nations Club — a competitive debate team. This past month they took third place at Georgetown University.
Gavai’s involvement in the United Nations club keeps her abreast of world events. “Living in West Windsor you don’t see gangs or very much violence,” Gavai says. “We are lucky for that, but you need to know what is going on in the world.”
According to Mira Desai, founder of the A2Z program, Neha Gavai has been an integral part in the program’s success. “She has an excellent heart,” Desai says. “She has put a lot into our program.”
Gavai would like to see more involvement in the A2Z program as well as other volunteer organizations. She herself has recruited the majority of the student volunteers and is still looking for more. “The real volunteer experience is to do it because you want to,” Gavai says. “I would like to see more people involved for that reason and not for their resume.”
— Jennifer Bender
A2Z Mentoring, training session for current and prospective volunteers, Sunday, March 4, at noon in the Plainsboro Library. For more information contact Mira Desai, 609-213-8764.
Active Volunteer from West Windsor and Plainsboro include Vrinda Varia, Ankita Satpute, Meena Mishra, Anisha Vora, Sangeeta Bohra, Shirisha Salgam, Rohan Tawde, Nick Ramanathan, Charu Ramanathan, Deesha Sharma, Renu Nadkarni, Mike Gilman, and Sagar Bohra. Also, Aneesha Khaneja, Anna Kilshtok, Prerak Patel, Adeetee Bhide, Pratima Lakhwani, Onak Gandhi, and Kunal Desai. Also, Nikhil Rammkrishna, Alka Satpute, Rahul Lakwani, Jared Dicicco-Bloom, Sagar Bohra, Pooja Shah, Shruti Varma, and Desha Sarma.
