SUCCESS NOTES

The success of the Mentoring Network continues to unfold. We are a direct-to-student support service designed to reach students while there is still time for them to develop resistance skills and assets that promote a healthy lifestyle. Our commitment to one-on-one mentoring in the schools means more successes for more youth, which in turn strengthens our communities.

Here's what people are telling us --

"I would like to express my thanks and appreciation to Meredith, mentor for Megan, a 5th grader this year at our Elementary School. Before their relationship began, Megan presented as a very depressed young girl with a dour, gloomy, or sullen outlook. Often times she would just seem disinterested in all that was going on about her, including playground activities. Although she functioned at a very high level academically and was never a disciplinary problem, she obviously needed a positive influence in her life that could penetrate her shell of disengagement. Meredith was the key. Thank you Meredith for taking the challenge of mentoring; your caring approach and never give up attitude made all the difference." ---School Counselor, Caldwell

“I had a WONDERFUL experience today. Remember Cory who moved to Boise last year? Well he came into the Post Office today to say HI. He looked great and we had a nice long talk. He said he was doing very well in Boise, he is working part time and is about to start drivers training. As we were talking he told me that he enjoyed our talks and thanked me for all I had done. My heart was about to burst!!! What a wonderful young man.” ---Male mentor, Post Master

“My son lost his Dad to cancer last year. Typically he is a bright, energetic 11 year old, but he is struggling sometimes with the loss of his Dad. He does not want to go to school at times and I felt he really needed someone other than me to talk to and confide in, a male companion that would spend time with him and “do guy stuff”. Due to The Mentoring Network’s diligence in making this opportunity available to us through my son’s school, we now have a male mentor trained and meeting with my son at school on a weekly basis. Although my son was a little reluctant at first, I now see him starting to look forward to his Thursday’s with his mentor. This program reaches out to kids and lets them know that no matter what is going on in their lives, there is someone there that cares, someone for support and encouragement and someone willing to help in any way they can.” ---Parent

“This program was very similar to the program I had just come from, with one large benefit -- I would get to meet with the student once a week at their school instead of once a month. I have been matched with the same student for three years now and it has been incredible to see how much she has grown and developed over the years, both socially and academically. Each year it was a pure delight talk about home life, social issues, help with homework and do art projects. I am not an artist by any means but a couple of times a month we would attempt a project. This way of working together allowed her to see that it was ok to try something that you might not normally, to be ok with not doing something as well as you had hoped, and it gave us a wonderful opportunity to build a trusting friendship.

Seeing young students become more confident, more sociable, and more true to themselves are some of the reasons I have been a mentor for seven years. These positives changes come from meeting with a student just one hour a week.” ---College age mentor

“After hearing a presentation by The Mentoring Network, Inc. at our weekly Kiwanis Club meeting I signed up to become a mentor. I was paired up with a fourth grade girl and in the beginning I asked her why she wanted a mentor and she said simply, she needed someone to talk to.

We have been together for two years now and I can honestly say, we’ve talked! When she was behind in her homework, we would work together as a team to get caught up. We played games, shared lunch and yes, talked. We became fast friends. In our short time together, she joined Orchestra, became a “flag girl” for the Dare-Pal program, dedicated to educating children about “saying no to drugs”. She recently signed up for a self-defense course and was looking forward to playing volleyball. What struck me most about her was she was becoming hopeful. Through all the adversity in her world, she always found the good in everything and everyone and never questioned why. She was looking forward to life.

Sadly, she and her entire family were killed in an automobile accident this past week. I will miss her! Although our time together was short, the impact was huge on both of us. The impact this program has on children will be felt for a lifetime.” -- Business Owner Mentor