Submitted by Ray Galloway
(August 7, 2024) — If you have been contemplating making application to become a mentor in the HK Mentoring Program (HKMP), you may want to take advantage of this opportunity. Due to an increase in the number of students nominated to be matched with a mentor, along with the unforeseen unavailability of some prospective mentors, we are extending the application window to early September. Accordingly, the initial training session for prospective mentors has been rescheduled from mid-August to Wednesday, September 11, 2024.
The HKMP is looking forward to starting its fourth year. Students participating in the program are eagerly waiting to see their mentors and to either renew or begin their friendships when the program starts again during the last week of September.
A Mentor is a role model, a friend, a listener, and a confidant. Available research has shown that children who participate in formalized mentoring programs can show improved school attendance, improved self-esteem, improved school engagement, and they will be less likely to start using illegal drugs and alcohol. Children selected for the program are matched with an adult mentor who has received training and has agreed to a formalized background check. Children meet with their mentors during the school year and in the school setting.
If you would like to become a participant in a program that will make a positive difference in the life of a child, please consider becoming a mentor for a student here in Haddam/Killingworth. We have students who are hoping that adults in our community will have time, an hour per week, to be their adult friend and to support them as they face the challenges of growing up.
If you have an interest in learning more about the HK Mentoring Program and possibly applying to become a mentor, please contact Patty Coletti, Program Coordinator, at: mentorprogram@hkyfs.org or call 860-345-7498. She is convening informational meetings for prospective mentors during the coming weeks. Training for new mentors is planned for September 11, 2024.
You, too, can make a difference in the life of a child!
