[nagdu] news article

[Julie J]

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


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