2025 Volunteer Appreciation Month Spotlight Series

April 30, 2025

Heart Math Tutoring is excited to share that in the 2024/25 school year, over 1,400 volunteer tutors provided individualized math instruction and mentorship to students each week across the Carolinas. We are thankful for the time and talents of these volunteer tutors year-round, but we love having the opportunity each April during National Volunteer Appreciation Month to show our gratitude and to highlight the contributions of a few special tutors. Please see below for the volunteers featured in Heart’s 2025 Volunteer Appreciation Month Spotlight Series.

Grace Mercer Schott

Fourth Year Tutor, Charlotte

After moving to Charlotte, Grace was referred to volunteer with Heart by fellow tutor Denise Ratchford (thank you, Denise!). Since then, she has supported six individual students across four different schools! Grace says, “What I enjoy most about tutoring is seeing the students I work with grow in confidence and watching their excitement and pride as they realize they’ve mastered a concept.”

Grace’s Heart Program Coordinator, Laura Giovannini, says, “Grace is a wonderful tutor. I enjoy working with her each week, and her students clearly do as well!”

Byron Wright

First Year Tutor, Charleston

Byron initially learned about tutoring with Heart while volunteering at Ladson Elementary’s Math Night, then again through his employer, Scientific Research Corporation. Byron has a degree in Math and tutored throughout college, and he thought it would be fun to tutor again. He shared, “It’s been a joy tutoring the students and seeing their progress through the year. All of the kids are super awesome and eager to learn!”

Byron’s Heart Program Coordinator, Morgan McCarley, says, “Byron’s passion and enthusiasm for math extends to his students. He is constantly finding ways to engage his students, build their confidence and challenge their metacognition through real world problems. His secret handshakes with his students make for the beginning of a great session. Byron tutors twice a week because of his great esteem for the program and students. We are so fortunate to have a math whiz in our midst.”

Kristina Hoops

Third Year Tutor, Charlotte

Kristina discovered Heart through First Presbyterian Church and says, “I am so glad I decided to sign up three years ago. One of the most rewarding aspects of tutoring is seeing the excitement on my students’ faces when I pick them up from their classroom. I love that they view our sessions as a fun, special opportunity rather than extra work. It’s incredibly fulfilling to see their progress and to watch their confidence and pride grow as they master new concepts.”

Kristina’s Heart Program Coordinator at Westerly Hills, Gabby Miller Hughes, describes Kristina as patient and positive; she shared that Kristina “always shows up for tutoring as well as for the extra events, like the Winter Event, because it’s so important to her that her students know she supports them. She is such an awesome tutor!”

Gray Barbour

Second Year Tutor, Winston-Salem

Gray just completed his second year as a volunteer and also serves on Heart’s Winston-Salem Advisory Board! Heart’s Program Manager in Winston-Salem, Freda Robinson, describes Gray as a “true Heart champion.” She shared that he has volunteered to help recruit new tutors and that he encourages his students to have a growth mindset: “I recently had a chance to hear Gray have a conversation with one of his students about learning from her mistakes and not letting them throw her off track. It was very nice.”

Gray learned about volunteering with Heart from fellow tutor and Advisory Board member, Claire Devon (thank you, Claire!). He said, “I also learned that my sister in Charlotte has been a Heart Tutor for many years and loved it. I soon joined as a tutor at the beginning of year one at Bolton Elementary School and then joined the Heart Winston-Salem Advisory Board as we worked to expand our number of participating schools in Winston-Salem.”

When asked what he enjoys most about tutoring, Gray shared, “It is something I really look forward to doing because every time we finish, I feel so uplifted and proud. It fills me with hope when I see my students ‘get it’ and see their confidence and understanding grow each time we meet. While we are tutoring math skills, we also have the opportunity to instill confidence, and support and provide encouragement to our students, which goes much further and deeper across all their schoolwork. I clearly feel I get as much or more out of this time spent together with our students as a Heart Tutor.”

Samantha Goldfrank

First Year Tutor, Charleston

Samantha learned about volunteering as a tutor after Heart’s team spoke during one of her classes at College of Charleston. She said, “I immediately knew I wanted to join the team of tutors after hearing from them.”

Samantha has tutored two second grade students since October and shared, “My favorite parts of tutoring for Heart are building relationships with my students and seeing their successes — both inside and outside of the classroom. I love to see the smiles on my students’ faces after our weekly lessons! HMT has a clear impact on the kids’ math skills, but it is more importantly a positive and welcoming environment for all.”

Samantha’s Heart Program Coordinator, Kristine Motte, said Samantha is “an extremely talented individual who infuses warmth and comfort into her sessions with her students. Her students absolutely adore her and regard her as a safe place to learn. She is fantastic at meeting a student where they are while simultaneously having high expectations. She is a phenomenal tutor and a wonderful volunteer for Heart.”

Fran Fleisch

Eighth Year Tutor, Charlotte

Fran heard about Heart through CMS, as she was already supporting Charlotte students at the time as a reading tutor. Over the past eight years, Fran has tutored both in-person and virtually across three east Charlotte schools and has made a positive impact working with 24 (!) individual students! Fran said she believes that the best part of tutoring, by far, is “witnessing the students’ confidence grow in math and beyond. They all make progress and their ‘aha moments’ when they grasp a new concept are priceless!”

Fran’s current Heart Program Coordinator, Stacey Howell, shared, “Fran volunteers with Heart three mornings a week in retirement, and is an excellent tutor. Fran works with a wide variety of students and is a different and unique partner to each, depending on what each student needs. In addition, Fran is extremely helpful with the other tutors, and she is very consistent. She is a huge asset to the Heart team.”

Valorie Johnson

Third Year Tutor, Charlotte

Valorie learned about volunteering as a Heart Tutor through Bank of America’s Volunteer Program. She shared, “I have an undergraduate degree in Mathematics and have tutored students for many years, so what better way to give back!”

While tutoring her students, Valorie feels passionate about individualizing learning to help her students build confidence: “What I’ve learned from tutoring is that it’s personalized – you must consider their education as a whole: Are they struggling with basic addition and subtraction? Are they anxious? Once the fundamental issues have been addressed, the students gain the confidence they need to succeed and sharpen their critical thinking skills.” Another of Valorie’s favorite parts of tutoring is celebrating wins with her students. “Celebration plays a big part in their success! When the light bulb comes on, we celebrate… no matter how big or small!”

Valorie’s Heart Program Coordinator, Jenala Daka, sees the impact Valorie has on the students she works with; she said, “Valorie inspires not only her students but all students to see potential in themselves! She truly sees the greatness in everyone.”

Charleston Progressive Academy Tuesday Afternoon Tutors

Wrapping up Heart’s 2025 Volunteer Appreciation Month Spotlight Series with a unique highlight: a whole tutoring session! Heart Charleston Program and Outreach Coordinator, Jennifer Brown, has a lot of gratitude for her Charleston Progressive Academy (CPA) Tuesday afternoon tutoring group, which includes: Ollie Cooper, Shanon Fauerbach, Sidoney Freeman, Mary Grace Grabulis, Kathleen Hatfield, Lynn McCollum-Lasher, Eric Light, and John Read. This group has a mix of first- and second-year tutors, and Jennifer shared that they go above and beyond to ensure their students succeed. She said, “They are creative with games and activities to keep their students on track to reach their end of the year goals.” This group of tutors is also passionate about building their students’ enthusiasm for math; first-year tutor Shanon Fauerbach shared, “I love math so I am excited each week to have fun with the kids while practicing math concepts. They are such great students and it’s fun getting to know them!”

These tutors are not only having a positive impact on their students, but on Jennifer as well, assisting her in best supporting her school and students. “This is my largest group at CPA and as a first-year Program Coordinator (PC), I have leaned on this group and they have given me feedback that kept me on my PC game.”

Thank you to our Spotlight Series volunteers and to all Heart tutors for volunteering with all your HEART and for your dedication to your students!