Boys and Girls Clubs of Springfield is on the hunt for adult mentors, following its launch this spring of Mission to Mentor, a program that aims to serve 80 at-risk youth at its three Springfield centers.
The program is three-tiered, with one-on-one mentoring with adults, peer mentoring, in which teen members work with younger club members, and group mentoring with guest speakers, said Chelsea Shepherd, mentoring coordinator with Boys and Girls Clubs of Springfield. Mission to Mentor was made possible by a $40,000 grant from Boys and Girls Clubs of America, in conjunction with the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Office of Justice Programs and the U.S Department of Justice.
The biggest challenge, she said, is lining up 30 adult mentors to work with club members.
“There is a significant need for these mentors because we focus on more at-risk youth at these clubs,” Shepherd said. “These kids have a higher chance of participating in gang activity, drug abuse. A lot of them come from single-parent homes. Some of them have parents or siblings that have been incarcerated.”
Still, Shepherd noted that that not all the children selected for the program face such critical risk. Several have problems with shyness or low self-esteem, which also can be addressed through one-on-one mentoring.
A study published in 2002 by Child Trends found that youth who are mentored have fewer unexcused absences from school, are less likely to abuse drugs, demonstrate more positive attitudes and show more confidence in their schoolwork.
“There is a positive improvement in students who have adults investing time in a relationship with them,” said Kari Kleinsmith, a guidance counselor with Nixa Public Schools. “Adult mentors who provide consistent support, guidance, and concrete help to students experience positive results.”
Mission to Mentor participants are expected to volunteer an hour a week with Boys and Girls Club members, Shepherd said, noting that she’s also considering planning some social activities for mentors and mentees. To date, eight adults have signed up to help with the program.
“It’s been a real struggle trying to find these one-on-one mentors, because everybody has full-time jobs,” she said. “They have their own life, their own kids.”
Boys and Girls Clubs conducts interviews and background checks on all mentor applicants, Shepherd said, and she’s looking for individuals who can provide the right kind of support for the club members.
“I need people who are maybe going to motivate these kids to establish some goals – homework goals to improve their grades,” Shepherd said. “Basically just really supportive people who can act as a support system, provide positive reinforcement, build their self-esteem.”
Mentoring is a familiar endeavor for Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Ozarks, which has paired local young people with adult mentors for 27 years, said Matthew Evans, recruitment coordinator. According to
www.bigbro.com, mentors through the organization are expected to commit to spending at least eight hours a month with their mentees for a minimum of one year. In 2010, the organization served 1,375 children in southwest Missouri, Evans said.
Beyond scheduling conflicts, communication can be difficult in new mentor-mentee relationships. Mallory Nolen, special events coordinator at Big Brothers Big Sisters, has mentored a 9-year-old girl since December.
“When I first met her, she was really shy. She wouldn’t even really look at me and (was) really nervous,” Nolen said. “Throughout our time together, she’s really opened up to me. We have conversations about real-life issues.”
Nolen says her mentee lives in a single-parent household with her younger brother and mother, who works long hours. Nolen spends an average of three to four hours a week with the girl.
“She’s my number one priority when we hang out,” Nolen said. “So we go play miniature golf. We go to CiCi’s. She’s cooked with me before. I try to teach her some kind of everyday skills.”
Mission to Mentor is Boys and Girls Clubs of Springfield’s first mentoring program, but Shepherd will be tracking the first group of participating club members to see whether they show academic, social and behavioral improvement, potentially paving the way for the program to grow.
“If we find this program to be successful, then we’re going to look into that and try to solicit funds from businesses and individuals and some of our board members to see if this is something we can continue,” she said.[[In-content Ad]]
