[nagdu] TEAM MATES MENTORING

[Susan Jones]

Julie, WAY TO GO!
Keep up the good work.
Susan & Rhoda
 

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
Of Julie J
Sent: Monday, November 30, 2009 4:39 PM
To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users
Subject: [nagdu] news article

Here's the  text of that article I mentioned earlier.
***
TeamMates mentors help kids


     
      News-Times/Kate Burke - Tanner Staehr (left) benefits from Tony Howe's
mentoring in the York Middle School TeamMates program. 
      see all of our photo galleries  

By Kate Burke
STAFF WRITER
Published: Sunday, November 29, 2009 11:11 PM CST YORK - Tony Howe would
like, for once, to be proactive.

For 13 years, Tony has been a police officer, the last six in Lincoln. "A
lot of the kids I see in my work, it's just not good," he says. "I thought
I'd try this."

Tony, a York High School graduate and resident of York, became a mentor in
the TeamMates mentoring program. He meets with seventh grader Tanner Staehr
an hour a week at York Middle School.

"I just want to help Tanner, just be that extra person for him to come and
talk to," Tony says. "Not that I have all the answers, but sometimes it's
important to hear it from somebody who's not mom or dad or the teacher."

Tanner is intelligent and energetic. He urges Tony out to the foosball table
in the school atrium. Rods spin, the ball flies, and within seconds, Tanner
scores.

Now the game is on.



"He's a really good guy," YMS counselor Dave Ciccone says of Tony. "He's the
perfect mentor because he cares about kids. That's the main requirement."

Julie Johnson had a similar reason for becoming a TeamMates mentor. As the
Juvenile Diversion Coordinator for York County, Julie too often sees kids
after they've had that "oops moment."

She works with non-violent offenders, mostly with minor-in-possession,
criminal mischief, vandalism or shoplifting charges, trying to prevent them
from messing up again.

With YMS seventh grader Paige Homan, she has a chance to prevent that
initial "oops moment" ever happening.

"I want to be a positive influence on her life," Julie says.

A TeamMates mentor commits to an hour a week for one school year. Students
are recommended to Dave by teachers, and he matches them up with a mentor.

"I figured it was gonna be some homework thing," Paige says.

She found out differently when she met Julie and her guide dog, Monty.

"When [Dave Ciccone] said there would be a friend along, I thought, Huh,"
Paige remembers. "When I saw the dog, I was really shocked."

Homework may be part of the mentoring, if that is what the students want.
Otherwise, the TeamMates mentors are there just to be a steady support, and
a friend. They are fairly free to decide how they will spend their time
together.

Paige and Julie laugh about a recent attempt to fly a kite in 30 mph winds.
Sometimes they play card games, and most often, they just talk.

"It's very much Paige-directed," Julie says with a smile.

Both Julie and Tony are new mentors this year. For both, it was just time to
step into a kid's life to work some good, instead of trying to undo trouble.

Tony has three young children of his own, and he had them in mind, too, when
he signed up for TeamMates.

"I just wanted to show my kids that it's important to volunteer, to give
back."

For more information on the TeamMates mentoring program, or to volunteer,
contact Dave Ciccone at York Middle School, 402-362-6655, option 1, or visit
the TeamMates Web site at www.teammates.org.