Community Gives Back for National Mentoring Month - FOX 42: Omaha News, Sports and Weather; kptm.com |
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Meghan McRoberts
OMAHA (KPTM)- Miriam Blair, GoodWill GoodGuides coordinator says, "we just don't realize how valuable it is just to have someone sit down and listen."
GoodGuides is a program to divert youth from the juvenile justice system, encourage youth to make positive decisions, contribute to the community, and keep their future in mind, making good career choices.
The program partners youth ages 14 to 17 with accessible role models.
We met with one mentor pair, Kristi Boswell and Morgan Scott, who have been partners since July 2010. Mentor Boswell describes "we just hang out, its really relaxed, we go shopping, we fill out job applications, go to dinner, get coffee, just hang out and chat."
She explains why she got involved mentoring as her way to give back to the community.
"When I grew up, I had a lot of fantastic mentors, and I thought it would be a great way to help someone out the way they helped me out, and without them I don't know that I would have been able to do some of the things that I've gotten to do."
Now an attorney in Omaha, Boswell is a great role model. But organizers stress that anyone can be a mentor. All you have to do is give up one hour each week.
Morgan Scott, Boswells mentee supports " I can see that she's gotten somewhere with her life, she's been through a lot, and so have I, and maybe I can come out good too."
However, organizers also say that the program isn't all about having fun and kicking back. The mentees are put through a curriculum, and a career readiness component, the bottom line being that they have a career path and future plan. This is what makes GoodGuides a unique mentoring organization.
Blair encourages anyone to become a mentor in honor of "National Mentoring Month" every January. You can contact the group for information on peer mentoring and group mentoring, as well as sign up to mentor or be mentored at http://www.goodwillomaha.org/
You can also check them out on Facebook and twitter.
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