6/24/2015
City's mentor program seeks 'hour-a-week' volunteers to help change lives | The Valley Breeze
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6/17/2015
City's mentor program seeks 'hour-a-week'
volunteers to help change lives
Mentor Greg Gudz poses for a picture with his mentee, Josiah Clemmons, at an
event celebrating mentoring at the Burrito Company this month. (Valley Breeze
photo by Sandy Seoane)
By SANDY SEOANE, Valley Breeze Staff Writer
WOONSOCKET - It just might be the perfect program for caring but busy adults who want to make a
difference in a local child's life.
The Woonsocket Mentor Program is looking to ex pand, and they 're seeking residents who are able to
commit just one hour a week to one-on-one time with a y oung city student.
"For that one hour a week, it is so rewarding," said Diane Landry , a Stadium Theatre employ ee and
mentor program v olunteer. "I lov e it. It's such a great program."
The organization held a celebration this month to thank the 35 mentors who hav e made the program
a success ov er the past y ear by v isiting the at-risk Woonsocket y outh at participating schools during
the school day .
http://www.valleybreeze.com/2015-06-17/woonsocket-north-smithfield/citys-mentor-program-seeks-hour-week-volunteers-help-change#.VYrCT_ldVxw
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6/24/2015
City's mentor program seeks 'hour-a-week' volunteers to help change lives | The Valley Breeze
The time and effort spent mentoring, they say , has been shown to drastically improv e the attitudes,
test scores, and ov erall chances of success for y outh throughout the community .
"Some of the core reasons kids aren't doing well is lack of an adult role model," said Charlene Pino, a
reading specialist at Pothier Elementary School who is working to help bring the program back to the
facility for the 201 5/201 6 school y ear. "If they hav e someone they can depend on consistently , they
don't mind giv ing up their lunch or recess."
Many of the group of current mentors come from Nav igant Credit Union and CV S Caremark, and
JoAnn Schofield, president and CEO of Rhode Island Mentor Partnership, say s the companies are
among few in the city that hav e consistently stay ed inv olv ed.
"The need is so huge, so we're really hoping people step up," Schofield said.
Teachers at participating schools work with administrators to help identify students who could use
an adult role model.
"They identify kids who they think could use support for any reason," Schofield ex plained.
Teachers also prov ide support, letting the mentor know how the student is doing that day and
discussing any progress or problems they might hav e had in the classroom.
Woonsocket resident Greg Gudz has been a mentor for six y ears, working with three different kids
before being matched with Josiah Clemmons, with whom he has worked for the past three y ears.
Clemmons is now a 5th-grader at Citizens Elementary School.
"The ex perience has been nothing but great for me," Gudz said. "From my perspectiv e, the program is
so easy ."
Gudz said he considered working with the Big Brothers program when he first decided to get
inv olv ed, but found he couldn't make the required time commitment.
"It just didn't fit my schedule," Gudz said. "What works with this is y ou can do it with a regular Monday
through Friday schedule, and they do it in an env ironment where the kids are already comfortable."
Scheduling is flex ible, with mentors ty pically meeting the students during their recess or lunch
break.
"It's based on the mentor's schedule and the child's schedule," Schofield said.
After y ears of meeting for just an hour a week, Gudz and Clemmons hav e clearly dev eloped a bond.
"He beats me at basketball all the time" Clemmons said.
Woonsocket's mentor program was first launched in 2007 thanks to grant from the Department of
Education. The program initially grew to include nearly 60 mentoring pairs at four elementary
schools and Woonsocket Middle School. But through uncertain times at Woonsocket schools, with
shaky financing and changing district leadership, it faltered.
"Through the change in school administration, it kind of fizzled out," Pino said.
It is now seeing a resurgence under the guidance of Program Coordinator Pam Sherman. Sherman
prov ides a screening, which includes a state background check, and trains the applicants before
matching each v olunteer with an at-risk y outh.
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6/24/2015
City's mentor program seeks 'hour-a-week' volunteers to help change lives | The Valley Breeze
"At the Woonsocket Mentor Program, we believ e that with y our help, we can prov ide the children of
Woonsocket with the positiv e adult role models they need to grow into responsible, contributing
adults who will carry on the best character and traditions of this city ," a pamphlet on the
organization ex plains. Sherman aims to grow the program to 50 pairs by the beginning of nex t school
y ear.
At the ev ent at the Burrito Company this month, the program also recognized the June Rockwell
Lev y Foundation for support of the organization, presenting Woonsocket's first-ev er Champion of
Mentoring Award.
"Seeing how successful this has been in Woonsocket does our hearts good," said Lev y trustee
Ray mond Lev eille.
Chief Thomas Carey , attending on behalf of May or Lisa Baldelli-Hunt said that the may or really is
ex cited about the program.
"Y ou just hav e such an impact on kids' liv es," Carey said.
Carey himself signed on to become a mentor before leav ing the celebration.
To sign up, or learn more information about the Woonsocket Mentor Program, contact Sherman, at
[email protected] or 401 -7 32-7 7 00, ex t.1 1 7 .
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