Difference-maker: Henrico nonprofit living up to its name

Sandral Turner became a tutor more than a year ago – by accident.

Turner and her sister needed to find a notary, but their local bank wasn’t able to assist. Then they walked into the office of Gail Crawford and her Making a Difference For You nonprofit.

As the two women received notary services, Crawford began talking to them about her tutoring program.

“I quickly raised my hand and said I would sign up,” Turner said.

Now in its fifth year, Making a Difference for You is a grass-roots nonprofit dedicated to enriching adults, students and senior citizens through classes and tutoring sessions that teach life skills. The nonprofit provides notary services, photocopying, faxing, resume assistance, GED certificate preparation, computer skills, money management and tutoring.

All services are free; the most popular service is tutoring.

Crawford, who works as a senior technical consultant at Bank of America, also serves as president of the nonprofit that she founded originally in 2004 and then reintroduced in 2013.

Last year, Making a Difference for You provided more than 6,000 hours of services to more than 50 students – all while operating on a budget of just $50,000. The nonprofit relies upon more than 100 volunteers for tutoring sessions.

“We have no outside funding, and we are all volunteer-based,” Crawford said. “I’m just thankful that we’re able to offer services for free.”

Crawford recruits volunteers through HandsOn Greater Richmond. Most tutors come from high school or college.

“We don’t have a structured curriculum for tutors because we want everyone to be free,” she said. “Our students get enough structure with standardized tests in schools, so we let them choose how they want to learn.”

Crawford pairs students who need help in particular areas with tutors who excel in those areas. Sessions are once per week and last one hour apiece.

If parents and students request additional sessions, they’re free to arrange appointments outside their usual schedules. To track students’ progress, Crawford assigns report cards to show which areas need improvement.

Stronger together
Although the nonprofit continues to grow, it got off to a rocky start. Crawford established an office in 2004 but struggled to gain traction.

“I was going door to door, trying to build connections, but it wasn’t working,” she said. “It failed, but I still continued learning all I could about the non-profit sector.”

She took another chance and opened her doors again in 2013.

“I realized it wasn’t perfect timing when I first opened,” she said. “Now is the time, because the children need us – especially with what’s going on with standardized testing in schools right now.”

When Making a Difference for You launched the second time, Crawford discovered she connected with other nonprofits faster than she had in 2004.

“I did the same thing as I did in 2004, but this time nonprofits started calling back,” she said. “More nonprofits are realizing how strong we are together rather than apart.”

Although her nonprofit faced difficulties, Crawford smiled as she talked about how it has changed lives for her students and parents. Many parents tell her they don’t have to remind their children about tutoring sessions since their children are the ones reminding them.

Crawford is accustomed to seeing students smiling as they arrive at her office, ready to learn.

Roxanne Derricott’s daughter and son are among that group of enthusiastic students.

“If we miss tutoring, they keep asking me when are we going to go again,” she said. “We’ve been coming here close to a year, and I’ve seen a remarkable improvement in their reading skills.”

Derricott’s children struggled with reading, but now they’re reading on their own and sounding out sentences instead of giving up right away, she said.

Passionate about learning
Volunteering has changed more lives than just those of the students.

“What I like about this nonprofit is they cater to all ages,” Turner said.

Turner has tutored people from various stages of life. She helped senior citizens in their seventies learn how to use Microsoft Word and assisted a 21-year-old student with preparation for a military entrance exam.

“Before coming here, he had taken the test once and failed,” she said. “After being tutored, he passed.”

Turner teaches math and vocabulary to her younger students. Her primary student is Tatyana Branal, 6 (pictured, above).

“Tatyana’s home language is Spanish, so English was a little choppy for her,” she said. “I could tell she loved reading, and she has improved so much.”

Turner said it warms her heart when parents ask her to continue tutoring their children for extra lessons.

“It really makes me happy to see how all my students are passionate about learning here,” she said.

As Making a Difference for You continues into its sixth year, Crawford has plans to retire from Bank of America and transition to full-time work at the nonprofit, she said.

“I really hope we’re able to help more people,” she said. “Right now we’re struggling to bring in donations, but we hope to change that.”

To learn more about Making a Difference For You, visit http://www.mad4yuinc.org or call (804) 447-7945.