A remarkable thing called connection happens when you find a way to combine
your talents with volunteering! This is what Dennis Burke discovered when he
began volunteering through Children Rising.

After he retired from the world of business and finance, Dennis wanted to find a way to contribute to his community. So in 2012 Dennis emailed Children Rising president Randy Roth about his desire to help kids with their math skills. At this time, Children Rising didn’t have a math tutoring program. But one thing led to the next and, within weeks, Dennis was paired with two students who were struggling with math.

Four years later, Dennis is still giving to the community through Children Rising’s two-year-old math tutoring program established under Science Horizons. Every week this school year at Burkhalter Elementary, Dennis goes over division, multiplication, decimals, and word problems with Aaron and Amaia. But his favorite moments are when they all feel comfortable enough to open up to each other and share what’s going on in each other’s lives.

As Dennis sees it, “For me, math has always been one of my great loves. It seems to be a point where I can connect with kids, not just about math, but through listening and encouraging.”