You’ve probably heard the nursery rhyme: One, two, Buckle my shoe; Three, four, Open the door; Five, six, Pick up sticks; Seven, eight, Lay them straight. That is what some participants in the KIDS with a Connection mentoring program did Sunday, April 12.
Several mentors and mentees gathered at Squirrel Hollow Park in Greene County for a potluck picnic lunch. Following that, they spent time preparing grassy areas in the park for mowing by picking up sticks that have fallen since the last season.
Dan Towers, Greene County conservation director, said, “We appreciate volunteer efforts. It accomplishes some tasks we might not get to right away. It gives us a jump start on our season.”
The mentoring program receives a great deal of support from organizations and individuals in Greene County. Volunteering to work at the park was just one way in which those benefiting from the mentoring program could pay it back, program coordinator Mary Tighe explained.
The outing was also timely in that it came at the beginning of National Volunteer Week. Mentors in the KIDS with a Connection mentoring program and members of the advisory committee for the program invest their time and effort to support youth in Greene County.
The examples of community involvement, engagement with others, and being a listener who can actually listen play a pivotal role in the continued development of youth in Greene County, Tighe said.
The KIDS with a Connection mentoring program is under the sponsorship of ISU Extension and Outreach, Greene County. Anyone interested in becoming a part of the mentoring program or in supporting the program in other ways is invited to contact Tighe at 515-386-2138
