Setting a Good Example:  Mayor pushes mentoring idea
January 3, 2007, Tulsa World (Oklahoma)

By P.J. LASSEK

A onetime meeting with a youngster can make an impression, but spending time with one can change a life and make a city safer, Mayor Kathy Taylor said.

Pushing Tulsans to be mentors is the first step Taylor is taking to address crime and gang activity in the city.

“In today’s world, there are many children that don’t’ have a responsible adult in their life to help them understand the importance of their education and role in society,” the mayor said.

One theme that came up repeatedly during a gang summit hosted in September by Taylor and David O’Meilia, the U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Oklahoma, was the need to challenge the community to become more involved in the lives of children who are at risk for gang involvement.

“Prevention is the key to reducing gang involvement, and mentoring can do that without costing the taxpayers,” Taylor said.  “It only takes a little time.”

The mayor is using January – National Mentoring Month – to kick off Mayor’s Mentoring Month.  An official announcement of the program will take place at 9:30 a.m. Friday at Marshall Elementary School.

Taylor said her goal is to raise awareness of the benefits of mentoring in the hope of attracting more people to join such programs throughout the city.

“What we want to do is to really let the community know how they can make a difference in public safety through making a difference in the life of a child,” she said.

Taylor said she plans to take time out of her schedule to read books from Oklahoma authors and illustrators to grade-school students once a week this month.

She said she also will continue to offer internships in her office.

The mayor said she is challenging city councilors to volunteer one hour a week as a mentor at a school in their district and encouraging city employees to volunteer at a school of their choice during their lunch hour.

Taylor said Bank of America, the sponsor for Mayor’s Mentoring Month, is providing a $41,000 grant for mentoring initiatives in “at-risk” areas.

The Community Service Council of Greater Tulsa will administer the money for academic, sports and arts programs to be offered at five schools two days a week between 3 and 6 p.m.

Taylor said she hopes to recruit at least 50 people to sign up as mentors by the month’s end.

“We already have a lot of people involved in mentoring programs throughout the community,” she said, “but we know with our dropout rates in Tulsa and our issues with crime and our youth, we need many more.”

Taylor said this is a chance to let the public know how it can help.

“Citizens are interested in public safety.  We’re always saying it is a community issue, and it is.  It’s not just the work of the police; it is also the work of the community,” she said.

“The biggest long-term effect a citizen can have on their city is being involved in the life of a child.”

Mayor’s Mentoring Month partners are the Mayor’s Office, the Community Service Council of Greater Tulsa, the Junior League of Tulsa, Partners in Education, the Tulsa Mentoring Coalition, Tulsa Public Schools and the Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence.

Potential mentor scan call the 2-1-1 Center, which is open 24 hours a day and is multilingual.

P.J. Lassek 581-8382
Pj.lassek@tulsaworld.com