Volunteers are needed for a mentoring program at Greene County Medical Center.
Donna Sutton, assistant director for the public health department, started Kids With A Connection about 13 years ago to help children receive support from a community group to decrease the cost of foster care.
Sutton says that they receive about 15-25 children, from elementary to high school ages, looking for adult mentors. The program is open to anyone who would like to volunteer their time to support and mentor children within the different school districts in Greene County. Young families and grandparenting age make up the majority of mentors but one group of people, Sutton explains the program could use are young, single males.
“We have a lot of young boys referred to the program that usually have an absent father-figure; often are living with their mother and see their father rarely or not at all and so they really need a male role model in their life.”
To be a mentor, Sutton says there’s several steps, but are easy to get through. First, you must fill out paperwork including references and have a criminal background check done. After that, you meet with Sutton to go through the policies and procedures of the program. Sutton then goes through the process of matching you up with an appropriate child which goes right into a follow up meeting with the parents of the child to work on any final details and ask if the child wants to be apart of the program. The final step is an introductory meeting is set up between Sutton, the child and the mentor.
Sutton comments that after the introduction meeting, it is up to the mentor and child when they would like to start meeting on a regular basis. She usually encourages mentors to meet with the child at least once a week so there’s a consistency built into the relationship. She offers this piece of advice if you’re someone who is thinking about volunteering to be a mentor but maybe doesn’t have the time to commit.
“I always tell them, don’t think about mentoring as working another activity into your week. Just think about it as incorporating another child into your life, into what you’re already doing.”
To learn more, contact Donna Sutton at 515-386-3228.