By Rick Garcia
Growing up in a military family was difficult for me because there was no adult male to help me cope with the “Rites of Passage” that many young males experience in an unstable environment – defiance, lack of self-esteem, anger, and violent behavior.
When I was thirteen living in Southern California, a few of my friends and I decided to play ball at another neighborhood only to be “jumped” by a gang, which ultimately led to a fatal stabbing of my closest friend. To this day, words can’t describe the feeling or the experience of seeing the life force leave the body of someone you know. It certainly was not what Hollywood depicts.
That night led to a dark period in my life, which was headed toward a path of destruction-truancy, loitering, bullying and petty theft. However, there was a beacon at the end of the dark tunnel which came in a form of a kind, older gentleman who was a Rotarian. He brought me to a place I’ve never been before – A yacht club where other “old white guys” convened at a Rotary luncheon. I was treated with respect and had sincere, earnest discussions about my life, their service accomplishments and more important, a willingness to mentor me toward a dream.
At that time I wanted to be a news reporter. I was soon paired up with the managing editor of a local Newspaper, who took me under his wing as an apprentice and gave me a free look at his world. He also gave me some strange advice at that time of the concept of “giving back”.
As time marched on, I continued to be engaged with these men who follow the motto “Service Above Self” – words that I live to this day.
It’s a fact that youth who are at-risk could be positively shaped by having an adult mentor in their lives.
Connecting young people to caring adults is crucial to successfully transitioning them from youth to adulthood. However, many young people from single-parent homes or in foster care find it difficult, if not impossible to develop sustainable caring connections to adults. One strategy to address this potential gap is youth mentoring. This program will likely ensure students will attend, engage and finish school and hopefully continue onto college.
One of the most effective mentoring models is a site-based approach where mentor pairs meet at a school, community center, or place of business, such as a corporate office. Research has shown that the relationship doesn’t need to take place over a long period of time: it simply needs to be consistent. Corporations are ideal partners as they can provide an appropriate setting and/or effective participants.
First Lady Michelle Obama helped launch the Corporate Mentoring Challenge in January 2011 through the White House Office of Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships. Coordinated by the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), six major mentoring organizations and community-based organizations collaborated on the creation and outreach of the challenge: MENTOR, United Way, Big Brothers Big Sisters, National Care Mentoring Network, National Alliance of Faith and Justice and Mentoring USA.
To date, more than 100 companies have committed to this challenge. In 2012, roughly 50 corporations participated in the Corporate Leadership Session, where eight companies were recognized for mentoring programs.
Mentor Michigan, part of Michigan Community Service Commission, harnesses that energy by supporting more than 250 mentoring organizations around the state – organizations that match caring adults with young people in need of role models.
To become a mentor or find trusted mentoring organizations in your community, please visit Mentor Michigan www.michigan.gov/mentormichigan. The site provides materials, offer opportunities, and share ideas. If you are an employer, consider having a student intern. It may be the best investment not only for your organization but for the good of our County’s brain power.
This was printed in the December 2, 2012 – December 15, 2012 Edition
