What's Homework Helpers? After the COVID-19 pandemic forced New York City public schools to shut down, Team AOC organizers mobilized and built a volunteer program on a mutual aid model called Homework Helpers. Volunteers have provided free 1-on-1 tutoring sessions for over 200 students in our community — and after a successful first year, Homework Helpers is now expanding. | Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

Students deserve to see themselves represented in the books they read. In The Bronx, where 70% of students currently read below grade level and bookstores are sparse, kids face hurdles to accessing any age-appropriate literature, let alone books that represent their language and culture. This summer, Team AOC’s Homework Helpers program partnered with Bronx-based Start Lighthouse to provide 30 third-grade students at PS 214 with a literacy curriculum focused on empathy, activism, and community. S