Mentor coordinator Shirley Aaron believes in the old adage that “everybody knows somebody,” and she decided to apply that statement to growing the school system’s mentor program.
A prime example of the results of that application are three young friends who, besides being local youth ministers in their respective churches, have also become mentors.
Blake Wilson said he first heard about the program at his church, Colbert Baptist, from fellow churchgoer and teacher, Renee McCannon, last year.
As a youth pastor, Wilson says he works primarily with teens, so the idea of mentoring a younger child appealed to him. He and his Colbert Elementary mentee often spend their visits at school playing sports and “just hanging out and having fun” and getting to know each other.
When Wilson met with Aaron to sign up as a mentor, she challenged him to find other recruits for the program. He took her up on it, and as it turned out, recruited not one, but two of his pals, Marty Jacobs and Richard Peck.
“It just wasn’t too hard to convince either of them to do it,” Wilson says smiling.
Jacobs agreed. He says he now looks forward to Friday afternoons because that’s when he goes to see his mentee, who’s a kindergarten student at Comer Elementary.
Jacobs, who youth pastors at Comer Baptist, and is the father of an 11-year old daughter, said he enjoys the time he spends with the boy.
“He failed kindergarten last year and I failed first grade, so that gives us something in common,” said Jacobs, who, like his mentee, also grew up without a father figure in his life. “My dad left when I was 3 years old.”
He also said that, like him, the boy is prone to “fabricating” stories sometimes to get attention.
“I think it helps him to have a male influence in his life,” Jacobs said, adding that he wants to be someone the boy can depend on. “I plan to keep mentoring him until he graduates.”
Jacobs said the time they spend together has become the “highlight of his Friday afternoons.”
“I missed one Friday due to a funeral, and he reminded me about it the next week,” Jacobs said smiling.
That let him know more than anything that the boy also looks forward to his visits.
“It’s a real sense of fulfillment,” he said.
Though not required through the mentor program, Jacobs also occasionally spends time with his mentee off campus, with the permission of the boy’s mother. He said his daughter has met his mentee and that they picked out a Christmas gift for him together.
And Jacobs is glad to note that his teachers report an overall improvement in the boy’s school work.
Peck, who mentors a fourth grader at Hull-Sanford, was pleased to find he had already met the young man who was chosen to be his mentee through his work with the Good News Club at the school.
“He’s from a broken family,” Peck noted. “And he just really was lacking in respect for adult authority.” Peck said he tries to engage the boy in conversations and fun activities.
“I think he appreciates being the focus of my attention,” Peck said, adding that that’s been lacking in the youngster’s life. The two often spend their time together playing Legos.
“He loves that,” Peck said. Peck, who is a youth minister at Hull Baptist, said he’s gained a lot from the experience as well. While accustomed to working with groups of youngsters, he said it’s a nice change to see that he’s making a difference in one person’s life.
The mentor program currently has 155 mentors system-wide, according to Aaron, but there are 1,000 children on the waiting list. “The need is great,” she said, especially for male mentors. Of the 155 currently enrolled in the program, only 32 are men.
January is National Mentoring Month, Aaron said, with a highlight being “Thank Your Mentor Day.” The mentor program is in its eleventh year in the county, having been piloted in the middle school before branching out system-wide. The program is sponsored by the Madison County Chamber of Commerce (its original sponsor), M.A.R.T. The Madison Area Resource Team) and the board of education.
“Being a mentor is simple; just be a friend,” Aaron said. “Of course, mentors are given ideas for activities to do and other ways to share with the mentee, but the mentors are ingenious at knowing how to relate to their students.”
BIG NAME RECOGNITION
The nationwide mentor program also got some “big-name” recognition for this month, as former Pres. George W. Bush issued a proclamation designating Jan. 2009 as National Mentoring Month, according to a press release. President Barack Obama has agreed to be featured in a print ad promoting mentor recruitment, under the slogan “Be the Change: Mentor a Child,” and General Colin Powell will be featured in a public service announcement supporting the campaign.
WANT TO BECOME A MENTOR?
It’s easy to become a mentor, says Madison County Mentor Coordinator Shirley Aaron. First, prospective mentors must complete an application and allow the sheriff’s office to perform a background check. Once approved, mentors are given a choice of what school they would like to mentor at and the school then identifies an interested student to pair with them. The mentor commits to the program for one school year and agrees to spend a minimum of two hours per month during school hours with their student.
For more information on the mentor program, or to sign up, contact Aaron at 706-338-3689 or e-mail her at mcmentor@madison.k12.ga.us
