Mentoring to the Max!
Mentoring to the Max!
The value of mentoring can have far-reaching effects on the
lives of our children. Mayor Kathy Taylor's office along with
Community Service Council of Greater Tulsa, Big Brothers Big
Sisters of Oklahoma, Camp Fire USA, Junior Achievement, Junior
League of Tulsa and Resonance have partnered with the Oklahoma
Foundation for Excellence, Partners in Education, Tulsa Public
Schools and Union Public Schools to bring awareness to Tulsans
about the need for mentors in the life of a child.
Our Mentoring to the Max initiative came about as one
of the recommendations from the
Building A Safer Tulsa Summit that was held September 2006 to
address gang violence. With the corporate support of Bank of
America and our mentoring partners, we launched our first mentoring
initiative in January 2007. Since that time we've gained a combined
total of more than 500 mentors for our community.
To date, Mentoring to the Max has created after school
programs in 18 elementary schools in both the Tulsa Public and
Union Public School districts. The after school programs, in
partnership with the Arts and Humanities and Junior Achievement,
serve more than 700 children, on a weekly basis with programs in
enrichment, art, reading, self-esteem, computers, workforce
development, moral duty, drama, dance, chess club, math, science
and community service.
On May 12, 2009, Mayor Kathy Taylor kicked off a brand-new
mentoring initiative called, "Mentoring to the Max with Music.
This new program came about through the leadership and
vision of Dr. Barry Epperley, artistic director and conductor for
TCC's Signature Symphony. Dr. Epperley said, "The fact is that
music is the universal language because that's how we're built and
we can measure it. An individual's brain lights up when music is
played during a CAT scan or an MRI -- it's how we're made."
Dr. Epperley has worked with the Mayor's Office and the
Community Service Council since the fall of 2008 to offer a program
that can reach Tulsa area kids through the powerful and inspiring
gift of music. Dr. Epperley is dedicated to bringing back music
programs within Tulsa area schools -- he is also working to connect
musical mentors with young, at-risk students who are unable to
access private or small group instruction.
The Mentoring with Music program is looking for 40 music mentors
to help out during the summer at Eugene Field and Kendall-Whittier
Elementary Schools. "Mentoring to the Max has been so successful at
our school that we were thrilled to move it to a new level with
music," said Cindi Hemm, principal at Eugene Field, "because music
speaks to our soul!" Judy Feary, principal at Kendall-Whittier
said, "Music mentors will allow our students in the Mayor's
Mentoring to the Max program the experience of working with
professional musicians and further their involvement with the
strings programs."
Mentoring has been proven to reduce crime, help kids miss fewer
days of school and improve their grades. It has the power to help
children reach their fullest potential and prepares them to be
successful throughout the course of their lives.
Young people are our greatest resource - they need and want
mentors for a number of reasons. Mentoring provides children a way
to...
- Stay motivated and focused at school
- Spend their free time with a positive role model
- Face daily obstacles and get good advise
- Develop career and economic skills and knowledge
Mentoring can make a wonderful difference in a child's life. It
only takes one or two hours a week of mentoring to change a child's
life forever. To find out how you can become a mentor or a music
mentor, call 2-1-1, today. Mentoring can take place in one of our
local schools or during out-of-school time through one of more than
40 mentoring programs in the city. To register online, e-mail Monroe Nichols. Please
include your name and phone number.
Mayor's Mentoring Month is sponsored by Bank of
America.
|
|
|
