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With over 20 children on a waiting list for a mentor with the Henry County Mentoring Program, we decided to host events just for them! Our first Mentor for the Day event was February 27th and we had 14 children from our waiting list in attendance. These short, one-day events allow the children who do not have a fulltime mentor to participate in the program as they wait.
If you know anyone who cannot volunteer for a year....but CAN volunteer for an afternoon...please ask them to contact Cassie at 385-8126.
Volunteer on November 6th from 11-3:30 at the REC Center for games, laughter, swimming and lunch. Your only commitment is the afternoon! |
| Quick Links |
iMentor Interactive
an online program is launched!
Check out the DEMO and learn how you will be emailing your mentee in September!
Books available for free at the ISU Extension Office
visit us on Facebook
Support the Henry County Mentoring Program by saying you "like" our facebook page
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October 21: 5-8pmMain Street Chilli Challenge. Wright Pavilion at McMillan Park.
October 28: 5-7pmMain Street Trick or Treat. Downtown businesses on Main Street.
November 6: 11am - 3:30 pm.
Mentor for a Day. Rec Center. ONLY FOR ADULT MENTORS TO VOLUNTEER with unmatched children.
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| The POWER of Belief | | |
Recognizing Resiliency in Youth
 "He saw something in me I didn't know I had"
Research in Resiliency and Youth Development articulates clearly just where and when change starts:
- with an adult's belief in innate resilience of youth - in the child's capacity for successful learning and healthy development.
Studies of "resilient overcoming" document the power of even ONE PERSON believing in you.
The key to young people seeing themselves in new ways- seeing their own worth and their power to act - is us having the eyes to see resilience despite risk, strength despite problems, and courage in the face of challenge.
We all have the capacity to transform how we see ourselves and our lives. We tap into this capacity when we are in environments where we experience safety, belonging, respect for our autonomy and identity, mastery and power, and a sense of meaning. As an ex-gangbanger observed, "Kids can walk around trouble if there is somewhere to walk to and someone to walk with" (in McLaughlin et al., 1994)
Let's ask ourselves this....are we turning lives around? Are we just "there" for our mentee, listening non-judgementally, looking and telling them of their strengths, and seeking input when we make decision? Maybe we should ask our mentees, because their perceptions of being cared for, believed in, having opportunities to be heard and contributing are the ones that count.
source: Prevention Tactics 2:3, 1998, by Bonnie Benard. Ms. Benard is a research editor of the journal Resiliency in Action and a consultant with Resiliency Associates in Berkeley, California. |
| Iowa Wesleyan College Mentors | |
 Great news!! The Women's Soccer Team at IWC has agreed to all become mentors in our Henry County Mentoring Program.
Under the direction of Coach Sara Williamson and supervision of Cassie Alaniz, the entire 19 member Women's Soccer team will be trained, screened, and then matched with a child on our waiting list.
It will be exciting to watch these young adults encourage, play with, and be a part of the lives of our youth in Henry County! |
| New Reporting Method | | 
Have you submitted your Monthly Mentor Log? If not, please do so by the 5th of every month.
You can also log on to the iMentor Interactive website and simply follow the survey.
Join the fun and email your mentee at.... http://henrycountymentoring.imentorinteractive.org |
| More Children are Matched in October! | |
 In October, the Henry County Mentoring Program:
- Trained 16 WMU High School students to become Peer Mentors
- Trained 5 New London High School students to become Peer Mentors
- Trained 27 IWC Students and Faculty to be school-based mentors to children in Henry County
- Matched 6 new children with a mentor
- Reconnected 9 school-based mentors with their mentees
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