WAIMANALO — Books bridged the age gap between students from TransPacific Hawai'i College and third-graders from Blanche Pope Elementary School.

To some, it may seem like an unlikely pairing — these Japanese students who came to Hawai'i to learn English and the Waimanalo youngsters — but the bond was the books.

Educators from both schools see the pairing as an opportunity.

"For some of our students, this is a great opportunity for them to meet college students and to think about college," said Jan Scarfone, Blanche Pope Elementary academic coach. "It's a cultural exchange."

During the two-hour session last week, the college students listened while the young pupils read from prepared writing samples. They checked the reading for speed and accuracy, jotting down words that the pupils misread. The program lasts for six weeks and will end with the Blanche Pope pupils visiting the TransPacific College in 'Aina Haina for a picnic and fun.

The tutoring work at the elementary school is just one of the volunteering jobs that the college offers its students, most of whom are from Japan. Students also volunteer at the Hawaiian Humane Society, 'Iolani Palace, Hanauma Bay, other elementary schools, Easter Seals, preschools, Hale Nani, the Honolulu Academy of Arts, Honolulu Zoo, the YMCA, Waikiki Community Center and the Hawai'i Maritime Center.

The volunteering gives the students something to feel proud of and puts them in situations where they have to rely on their new English skills, said Sharon MacQuoid, service learning center coordinator at the college in 'Aina Haina.

"I'm very proud of them," MacQuoid said. "All our students who volunteer are great and they really are dedicated and understand about making a contribution to the community."

So far this year, 13 students from the college have received recognition from the President's Council on Service and Civic Participation on behalf of President Bush.

Every Sunday for the past year, Noriko Sakakibara has volunteered at the Hanauma Bay Marine Education Center. She gives a short speech each time in English and Japanese before the showing of the mandatory movie that visitors see before going down to the beach. She also helps visitors identify fish.

"I want to speak better English," Sakakibara said. "I want to meet people from all over the world and I'm interested in tourism."

So far, Sakakibara has racked up more than 300 volunteer hours in her 1 1/2 years at the 'Aina Haina college. That's enough to qualify her for the gold President's Volunteer Service Award.

"Volunteering in Japan is a lot of work," Sakakibara said. "Here, it's fun. The environment here is so much better, many people volunteer."

Yoko Michiya spends each weekend as a volunteer groomer at the Hawaiian Humane Society, washing puppies. So far she's logged more than 130 hours.

"It's a stinky job," Michiya said. "I like animals, so I thought it would be an easy way to communicate with people through the animals.

"In my case, I really want to improve my English skills."

At Blanche Pope, a dozen college students worked one-on-one with pupils and listened as youngsters read from worksheets about historic figures like Billie Jean King and Helen Keller.

Said third-grader Abcde Keola: "It's fun to read and I like to read books. I have a lot of books at home."

Blanche Pope Principal Ofelia Carag saw the program as a cultural exchange from model students who are working to improve themselves as well.

"We have a lot of volunteers coming to our school and because of that opportunity to work with others, our students are more accepting of other cultures," Carag said. "The students really enjoy it and they see that they're helping the Japanese students by teaching them English."

Reach Suzanne Roig at sroig@honoluluadvertiser.com.