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Downers Grove's Kurt Mohr named Illinois Volunteer of the Week

The Serve Illinois Commission on Volunteerism and Community Service named Downers Grove resident Kurt Mohr as Volunteer of the Week for March 8, 2021.

Mohr is the quintessence of a volunteer who gives for all the right reasons.

After successfully completing Literacy Volunteers of Illinois' required training in September 2019, he started volunteering for the Jump Start tutoring program. He works with incarcerated youth at Illinois Youth Center-Warrenville. Mohr started out committing to 2 hours a week, but he enjoyed the experience so much he then signed on to 4 hours weekly. Now he is serving as an AmeriCorps member, tutoring the youth at IYC-Warrenville 10 hours a week.

Mohr usually helps the youth with Math and Science. He says, "Math was always particularly difficult for me in school, and I went to college ill prepared for the math requirements of my chemistry major."

He took remedial math in college and goes on to say that "because it was so difficult, I can often understand where our students have problems … the same places I did."

The one-on-one interaction with students is what Mohr finds most rewarding especially when "they suddenly understand something they didn't before." Every day after working with the kids, Mohr says, "I feel a little younger than when I walked in!"

His humility and humor define him. He is patient and passionate about tutoring the youth and guiding them toward a better future. Mohr is also a CASA volunteer and serves as an ELL tutor mentoring a young man from Venezuela who recently immigrated to the U.S. Literacy Volunteers of Illinois is grateful for all his hard work with the team.

Learn more about Volunteer of the Week at www2.illinois.gov/sites/serve/volunteerism/.

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