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City’s Office of Youth Initiatives seeks more mentors for 1‑on‑1 school program
Summary
The Office of Youth Initiatives described a YMCA 1‑on‑1 partnership pairing city employees with Cass Street School students for weekly 90‑minute mentoring; staff emphasized academic and social benefits, named several local mentors and said the program needs more volunteers.
City officials described the Office of Youth Initiatives' mentoring program that pairs city employees with students from Cass Street School for weekly 90‑minute sessions under a YMCA 1‑on‑1 partnership. Presenters said mentors focus on academics, goal‑setting and social activities; the program was presented as a one‑year volunteer commitment performed on the volunteers' own time.
The transcript cites a city employee, Gloria Ward, who has mentored eighth‑grader Tiffany Brantley for three years; the presentation also referenced mentor Beverly Craig helping a sixth grader, Sarah James, with math and homework. A student speaker described the mentoring relationship as helpful to grades and school relationships.
Officials said the program is one of 20 YMCA‑sponsored sites and involves 25 schools; they gave a per‑location range of "10 to 35" students meeting with a mentor at each site and urged city employees and community members to volunteer. Contact numbers given in the presentation were the Office of Youth Initiatives at 286‑2034 for city employees and the YMCA at 817‑9622 for others.
Speakers and volunteers framed mentoring as a low‑time, high‑impact civic activity that supports youth development and academic improvement. Officials asked community members to consider committing an hour to an hour‑and‑a‑half each week to expand program reach.
