Education series - Mentoring program lets students know they are not alone

March 22, 22024

How does mentoring impact the emotional health of youth?

It gives them someone they can count on, who will listen to them and not judge them, lets them know their voice matters.

How does mentoring impact youth in the classroom?

Students try harder on their assignments and homework because they know there is someone who cares about them.

Every year, the Catawba County United Way (CCUW) partners with local nonprofits who are champions of improving the lives of youth and teens.

In a new weekly series, the CCUW will introduce the 2024 funded programs working in this impact area, highlighting how education is more than just grades and attendance.

This week – Council on Adolescents in Hickory

BY SAMANTHA GAMBILL 

Catawba County United Way

“Sometimes these kids would rather have negative attention, than no attention,” Mentoring Programs Coordinator at Council on Adolescents Tracey Paul said.

She, along with all her volunteers are working to help young teens gain confidence and build up their self-esteem with the Lunch Buddy program.

This program pairs local middle school students with an adult mentor in the community.

“You can never start too soon. The earlier the better,” Paul said.

This mentorship program is a part of Council on Adolescents, a Catawba County United Way funded partner. Lunch Buddy provides children with an additional role model in their lives.

Once a week, the mentors will go to the school of their mentee and eat lunch with them. This takes place for the entirety of the school year.

“Our goal is that they graduate high school, to start with, as the steppingstone to go wherever else they want to go, or whatever else they want to do,” Paul said.

For many of these students, the program is about more than just having someone to have lunch with during school.

“Sometimes their grades aren’t the best. Their absenteeism is a problem. Sometimes they get in trouble and get sent to the office,” Paul said.

The Lunch Buddy program can help change this.   

“The student is excited to have somebody actually come and eat lunch with them, to give them some attention, to spend some time with them,” Paul said. “Having somebody that they can count on, that they can talk to, that they can learn from helps with their self-esteem.

“It helps them feel better about themselves, helps them to figure out where they fit in in this crazy life.”

This new self-esteem and confidence will translate into the classroom, Paul said.

Students will pay more attention to their teacher and try harder on their assignments and homework all because they know there is someone who cares about them.

The mentors are also able to help the children realize, “that their parent does care about them. That their parent does want to be there with them” Paul said.

This leads to better communication from both the child and the parent, thus leading to a better relationship.

Parents have told Paul how excited they were to have an additional resource, and an additional person to help guide their child in the right direction.

Every year the Council on Adolescents hosts two events for the Lunch Buddy program that brings the students, their families and their mentors together. The first is the winter celebration. The children can go bowling, eat pizza, and spend time with their mentor and parent.

The second is the end of year celebration, where children, mentors, and parents can attend a Crawdads game. Both events allow the students to continue to build relationships with their mentor and their parent.

This past year the mentorship program at Council on Adolescents was able to provide 82 students with a mentor.

“These kids just need a push in the right direction” Paul said. The Council on Adolescents’ Mentorship program provides this push.

For more information about the Council on Adolescents’ mentorship program, or to learn how to become a mentor, go to Council on Adolescents Mentorship Program, or call 828-322-4591.