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Mentoring Campaign Targets Baby Boomers
January 22, 2005, The Daily Nonpareil (Iowa)

By TIM JOHNSON

"She's like a little sister to me."

Cati DeMasi speaks fondly of the student she has been mentoring for the past four years. The relationship began when the girl was in sixth grade and has continued ever since.

DeMasi said the partnership has been mutually beneficial.

"It's been wonderful," she said. "It's been probably one of my favorite experiences."

Jeremy Hankenson, a sixth-grader at Roosevelt Elementary School, has enjoyed having Tim Barry as his mentor, he said.

"It's really fun," he said. "We do exciting things."

The two usually meet in the guidance counselor's office or the school library, depending on what is available, Barry said. They may play cards and talk about how school is going or they may arrange an outing, such as a visit to a museum or other educational attraction.

Many students can benefit from having a mentor, said Corrine Grace, director of Volunteer Council Bluffs.

"There are a lot of youth who need a little extra guidance, a little extra support," she said.

Mentors can help keep pupils focused on school and encourage them to do their best, Grace said. And students usually enjoy the friendship.

"The kids always look forward to having that attention and to knowing that an adult cares that much about them," she said.

Grace is using National Mentoring Month, which is January, to highlight the need for volunteer mentors. This year's theme is, "Share what you know. Mentor a child."

"We can always use more mentors," she said.

On Tuesday, Volunteer Council Bluffs, which is a program of the American Red Cross, Loess Hills Chapter, will celebrate Thank Your Mentor Day by holding a reception for current mentors. Students are encouraged to express their appreciation to mentors, too.

Thank Your Mentor Day, a trademarked initiative of the Harvard School of Public Health, promotes "Three Ways to Honor your Mentor":

• Contact your mentor directly to express your appreciation.
• "Pass it on" by becoming a mentor to a young person in your community.
• Write a tribute to your mentor for posting on the campaign's web site.

The Harvard Mentoring Project of the Harvard School of Public Health and MENTOR/National Mentoring Partnership jointly created National Mentoring Month and are leading the NMM 2005 effort in collaboration with Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, Points of Light Foundation and other nonprofit groups.

The official book for NMM 2005 is "Guiding Lights: The People Who Lead Us Toward Our Purpose In Life," by Eric Liu, which will be published this month by Random House. "Guiding Lights" tells the stories of life-changing mentors who guide their apprentices on a path of purpose and possibility.

Liu will travel the country throughout January as a spokesperson for National Mentoring Month.

Those interested in becoming a volunteer mentor may contact Grace at Volunteer Council Bluffs, 322-6431.

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