Just a little over a month ago I stood in front of church asking you to consider being a Kids Hope volunteer. Thanks to a great response we now have 9 new mentors, 1 substitute mentor deciding to become a regular mentor and 1 new substitute mentor. Praise the Lord for so many hearing His call to be a part of caring for at risk children through the Kids Hope program.
The following members of Hope Church have undergone 3 hours of required training this past September and October and are now all actively visiting Vanderbilt Academy each week to mentor their assigned students: John Beyer, Stephanie Beyer, Steve Berry, Andrew Bredow, Bob Luidens, Sandi Mulder & Connie VanderVelde (co-mentors), Rhonda Edgington, and Brad Bright. Marge DeBlaay is our new substitute mentor. In addition to these names we have 8 returning mentors which we will feature in a later article.
All of our mentors have met their student at least 2 times and during these first few visits they have used their time together to get acquainted with each other and figure out how they will spend their 45 minutes. Kids Hope recommends some time for conversation, some time spent helping with homework and hopefully some time left to play a game or do another fun activity. Already we have seen mentor progress reports coming back telling of time spent sharing about family as well as time spent reading and writing. It is always fun to read the reports and see their relationships grow as well as keep up on their academic progress and to note what games they played or what they talked about. At each one of these visits a difference is being made in a child’s life by the mentor just being there and showing they care enough to prioritize one hour a week just for that one child. To each of our new and returning mentors, thank you, you’re the best!
Still thinking about mentoring? It is never too late to sign up. Contact Barb Joldersma or me and we will get you started.
~Vicki Rumpsa, Kids Hope USA Co-Director