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Be
a Mentor and Help a Child
January 20, 2005, Escanaba
Daily Press (Minnesota)
EDITORIAL
January
is Mentoring Month in Michigan. The effort, launched
by Gov. Jennifer Granholm, calls on people to
step forward to mentor children in their community.
This
is a necessary and valuable effort. But some local
residents, including Dave Feathers of Rapid River,
are already on board. They mentor children for
its own reward.
Feathers, member of the Escanaba Noon Kiwanis
Club, reads Thursdays to pre-kindergarteners in
Rapid River. His service is through the local
Head Start program, administered by the Community
Action Agency.
"It's
just nice to be around the young kids and their
innocence. It's also nice to know that they're
learning things at this age which are going to
help them when they get older. I hope it's positive
for them; I know it's positive to me," Feathers
said.
He joined the program at the urging of fellow
Kiwanians, and hasn't regretted it for a second.
"I
try to get them involved in story-telling, I ask
them questions. They're so enthusiastic with their
answers. It's a great time," he said.
Granholm, too, is a fan.
"Mentoring
transforms the lives of children," she said.
"By strengthening our children through mentoring,
we are building a stronger future for them, our
communities, and our great state."
Granholm and First Gentleman Daniel G. Mulhern
are leading the Mentor Michigan initiative, a
statewide effort to raise awareness about the
need for mentors and the benefits associated with
mentoring. By 2006, Mentor Michigan hopes to recruit
10,000 new volunteers for mentoring organizations
across the state.
Feathers is a little unique in this endeavor.
A recent study released by Kahle Research Solutions
shows only 34 percent of mentors in Michigan are
men.
As a result of the findings, Mulhern is urging
men to step forward to mentor children in Michigan.
"Mentoring
programs all across the state expressed the desire
to put the men back in mentoring. We've learned
that many programs are not enrolling boys because
there are no mentors available for them and this
is a missed opportunity for everyone who stands
to benefit from mentoring," said Mulhern.
In addition to the Head Start Reading Program,
another important mentoring program in our area
is Big Brothers/Big Sisters. That program, too,
has had a difficult time finding men to match
with little brothers.
If you would like to volunteer for the Head Start
reading program, call (906) 786-7080, or BB/BS,
call (906) 789-0060.
The rewards go to our children, but you, too,
will probably reap some big benefits.
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