SUPERIOR, WI. (KBJR 6) - June 11, 2022

When chemistry professor Dr. Michael Waxman heard about what was happening in Ukraine, he decided to help in the best way he knows how.

“I asked my wife’s advice,” Waxman said. “‘What can I possibly do? And should I start to tutor kids maybe? Offer my services as a teacher? And she said, ‘yeah, you should.’”

Waxman reached out to students in Ukraine through community Facebook pages offering to tutor them for free over zoom.

“In no time, I had a few students being tutored,” he said.

He received a message from one student’s mother, who told him the lessons have helped her son get through this traumatic time.

“She said ‘Once you started your lessons, all of the sudden, the boy became his old pre-war self,” he said.

The need for his services was so great, Waxman decided to enlist some extra help.

His son designed a website for “Tutors Without Borders,” so students and volunteers can sign up and be matched with one another online.

“It’s not difficult,” Waxman said.

He said many of these students are eager for their lessons.

One even reached out to him an hour before their zoom call to say he couldn’t wait for it to start.

“I have been teaching as a university professor for nearly 30 years,” he said. “But never have I received such a message from anyone before.”

There are currently about 150 volunteers serving about 400 students, some of which are still waiting to be paired with a tutor.

“Those poor kids need you,” he said.

Waxman encourages anyone who is interested to volunteer their time, even if it’s only a few hours a week.

Waxman said he will continue offering these services until they are no longer needed.

If you’d like to help tutor, you can sign up here.

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