Since January is National Mentoring Month I wanted to encourage others to share some time with another person as a mentor. As a person that has been mentoring the same student in the McKinney ISD for three years, I can tell you that you will get more from the experience than you expect and you never know how much it will mean to the other person.
Need a suggestion on where to mentor locally? McKinney ISD’s divisions of the Partners in Education organization is REACH. The program is designed to foster a basic sense of self-esteem, self-confidence and a motivation to learn and improve personal and social skills that will reinforce the importance of an education. Reaching one child at a time is the primary goal of the program and just requires an hour per week.
Currently the program provides mentors for around 400 children in the school system, but there is still a waiting list for students that just need another adult in their life to show interest. At the annual luncheon last May the superintendent remarked that during these tough times even more mentors are needed as more students and families struggle.
Becoming a mentor is one of the best investments you can make for the future. You just need to listen, show that you care and share your experiences. So whether it is through a local school system, Boys & Girls Clubs, Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, Big Brothers Big Sisters or you just find someone from your life that needs a little direction or friendship – take a little extra time in 2012 to share yourself and your time.