Research shows that a mentor can make a huge difference in the life of a middle school adolescent.
All it takes on the part of the mentor is an hour of their time each month throughout the school year with a sixth, seventh or eighth-grader in the Connecting For Success program at Waimea Middle School. As a bond begins to form, many volunteers give a few more hours of their time each month, feeling a true connection with the student.
With the start of the new school year, WMS’ Community Outreach Coordinator Angela Pastores is now recruiting mentors for about 60 students. No special skills are required and mentors to date have been different ages and come from varying backgrounds. The school carefully pairs mentors with a mentee and works closely with both throughout the year. All mentoring occurs on the school campus.
A screening and training process is already in place. Mentors are interviewed and undergo the standard eCrim screening, fingerprinting and take a TB test. Then the training begins.
Now in its fourth year, the Connecting For Success student mentoring program is funded by Hawaii Community Foundation.
To find out more about what it means to become a WMS mentor, call Angela Pastores at 443-3666 or email Angela_Pastores@wmpccs.org. For more details on the Connecting for Success program, go to www.WaimeaMiddleSchool.org.