Greene County board of supervisors at its Jan. 9 meeting declared January 2014 Mentoring Month in Greene County to coincide with statewide and nationwide efforts during the 13th annual National Mentoring Month campaign.
This proclamation recognizes the fact that every day quality mentoring programs in our state connect thousands of mentors to our young people and cultivate relationships that provide crucial support and guidance as these young adults grow and develop into our next generation of citizens and leaders.
The simple act of being a consistent presence in an adolescent’s life through a quality mentoring relationship is proven to help improve school attendance and academic achievement, promote responsible decision making, and provide skills to better navigate relationships at school, socially and at home.
Mentoring Month in Greene County gives an the opportunity to highlight quality mentoring programs that produce these positive benefits, and to focus on year-round strategies to grow their capacity to ensure every young person in Greene County who needs a mentor is connected to a caring adult.
One such program in Greene County is the KIDS with a Connection mentoring program. At its inception in 2000, the program was under the sponsorship of the public health department with Donna Sutton as program coordinator. With Sutton’s retirement in 2013, the program transitioned to sponsorship of the Greene County Extension.
Current program coordinator Mary Tighe stated, “There is a ‘mentoring gap’ in Greene County. The number of referrals of young people in need of a mentor far exceeds the availability of mentors.” Anyone interested in finding out more about mentoring and the KIDS with a Connection mentoring program is encouraged to contact Tighe at the ISU Extension and Outreach Greene County office, 515-386-2138.
