Mentoring in 2020

I had a review with one of our mentors this week. He shared a few things that stood out to him in 2020. Let me share a few.

His first mentee moved away all of a sudden at the beginning of the year. It was really sad, because they had already grown so close in a few months of meeting. Every time this mentor came to program he would kneel down and pray with this boy.

One day, before the mentor could get to his car to leave, his mentee ran and hugged him. He said in tears, “I think you are a better dad than my dad.”

This mentor was rematched with another boy, and shortly after, Covid shut everything down. With no program, he committed to regular porch visits, helped the boy’s mom with car troubles, and celebrated his mentee winning the Mr. Wildcat award at Northlake Elementary. That’s right, one of our boys was voted BEST STUDENT at one of our schools last year. And then over the summer this boy’s family moved... Another disruption, but here’s the thing: they’ve stayed connected because of the depth of relationship they have developed.

He goes and visits them once a month out in Forney.
His small group got his mentee and his brother bikes.
He advocated for them in the new school during online learning.
He helped his mentee’s mom with financial planning.

And then on Father’s Day, this mentor got a call from his mentee. “Happy Father’s Day.” This boy’s dad died when he was only two years old.

For most of our boys, having a mentor means more to them than they can express. But hearing stories like this remind me why we do what we do.

Thankful for our mentors today.

Thankful for every family who has moved away this past year, but still reflects upon the impact our program and volunteers have made in their lives.