March is here! Of course that still means we are experiencing the “lion” type of weather and very much looking forward to the “lamb” type of winter that we have at the end of the month. For me, as the director of Kids Hope, I think of March as a “Mentor Appreciation Month” (since I am known as one who uses the letters of the week to guide my daily activities, it makes sense to me to use the letter “m” of March and carry that out to focus on my mentors. A bit crazy you may think but it helps me organize my life). So that is the theme of this article.
First, my mentors are amazing! I am overwhelmed at times just thinking of how wonderful they really are. These are busy people who take time out of their schedules to be a mentor. Some leave work to do so. Others schedule their mentoring time early in the morning before work. Many others do other volunteer work but still find time for Kids Hope. Some have done this for years and a few have left the program and come back when they heard that there was a need for more mentors. Even though this group of 11 is great, I always am looking for new mentors as new kids arrive at school mid year and teachers continue to ask for mentors for them. Next school year I would like to at least add 5 new mentors so if you are reading this article, please be thinking about that.
So what does being a mentor involve? Well, first of all if you are interested in possibly being a mentor you either contact me or sign up on the sheet that is located on the Kids Hope Bulletin Board (didn’t know there was a Kids Hope Bulletin board? You’ll find it on the board nearest the office). By signing up or speaking with me you are just saying you want to know more what being a mentor entails and no commitment is made at that time. If you are interested I will contact you and answer any questions you have. If you then want to pursue being a mentor, I will give you a volunteer sheet to fill out. Once that is returned to me, the office runs a background check (Kids Hope requires this). Then the training begins. You have the choice of how you want to receive the Kids Hope Training with one option being meeting with me in person for 2 hours and the other option being doing online training at your own convenience. Once the training is completed we will meet again to answer any further questions you have and to give you your Kids Hope folder. The Kids Hope folder includes such things as the Vanderbilt Academy’s school calendar, information on the student you are being assigned to and the contact email for your student’s teacher so that you can speak with him or her and decide the day and time you will mentor. Once this is set I will meet you at the school to give you a tour, introduce you to the office staff, show you locations you can find a desk to mentor at, locate the student’s room and visit our Kids Hope room where we keep our books, games and arts and crafts material. You are now ready to begin mentoring. Mentoring time is spent getting acquainted, talking about what has happened in the past week, some help with homework, reading together and playing a game. The key to this time is relationship building. These kids can benefit from more attention than a crowded classroom can often give, so this 1 on 1 time with you is really important. You will find that they can’t wait for your visits and a special bond is created over the school year as you meet together. Once your 45 minute session is completed you are asked to fill out a Progress Report that comes ready to use with 2 copies. You take a few minutes to fill this out and put one copy in the teacher’s box and one in the Kids Hope box and then you are on your way to your next place to be.
Throughout the year you are asked to attend with your student 1 or 2 special events like bowling and we all gather at the end of the year with the Third Reformed Church mentors at a Year End Celebration that includes dinner and awards. The reward of mentoring is making a difference in the life of a child. As one mentor put it ”I can’t think of a better 45 minutes spent knowing that I am helping a child.”
So do you want to be a mentor? You know what to do now and I look forward to answering any questions you have.
~Vicki Rumpsa, Kids Hope USA Director