Dare County Mentors
Tom and Linda Craney from Kitty Hawk write about their mentoring experience.
“We began mentoring him when he was ten years old. There was no father present. His mother was amazingly strong, holding the family together with multiple jobs and thinking out of the box. His older brother has a substance abuse problem, fathered a child when he was nineteen years old and was sporadically employed while still living at home. Around many peers like himself with no strong father figure, our youth was bored and getting into trouble at school and at home. He had low self-esteem, little interest in school and susceptible to negative peer influence.
Over the years we set an example as a solid couple emphasizing fun through exercise and constructive activities, discipline and affection in two to four hours doses every week. As you can imagine, he was transformed over the years. At the same time we were a support system for his mother and influenced his brother. Not in an overt way. Just being a steady couple.”
“He is now a freshman in high school. He is making good grades in school, has a good work ethic and still calls us when he needs help. This young man will be contributor to society, not a detractor. Dare County Friends of Youth made that happen.
Giving back is the most important activity we do in our lives and chances are we would have not found an avenue to direct our volunteer energies had Friends of Youth not been available.”
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Moore County Mentors
The COMPASS (Community of Mentors Producing Academically Successful Students) Project is a federal grant program based at Southern Middle School in Aberdeen, NC. The program currently serves forty 6th graders and 30 7th graders.
On April 6th, COMPASS staff, students and several mentors traveled to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. They toured various departments and took part in a guided tour of the campus. The trip to a four-year University allows students the experience of life on campus. Students became more comfortable with the possibility of one day attending and earning an education from a college or university. The trip was successful! The students saw a four-year institution as an option after they graduate high school and as a stepping stone for their dreams.
Caswell County Mentor
Willie McGhee was a quiet student who got into trouble at Bartlett- Yancey High School in Caswell County on regular basis. Willie seemed to enjoy being sent to the Alternative School where a relationship developed between the young man and the Program Coordinator. The relationship, based on respect and honesty, changed Willie from a wannabe gangster to a young man that wants to graduate from high school on time. Willie now listens to adult advice, and then formulates his own opinions. And he will graduate this June! |
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