Submitted by Sierra Lopez.
(Middletown, CT.) Chairman Don DeVivo of Middlesex County Chamber of Commerce announced that for over 28 years the Hal Kaplan Middletown Mentor Program has been an active partnership between the Middlesex County Chamber of Commerce and the Middletown Board of Education.
Larry McHugh said, “This partnership was formed to fill a need in our community, to make sure young people attending Middletown Public Schools have access to dependable and positive people to look up to, a trusted friend who will commit to listening and understanding them.”
This program features Mentor, Marc Sadinsky and Mentee, Zuriel Miglietta. Marc Sadinsky started as one of the first mentors of the Hal Kaplan Middletown Mentor Program, and would certainly fit that description with his many years of mentoring in Middletown Public Schools. He has mentored children at five of the eight elementary schools and the two middle schools.
Marc loves the Hal Kaplan Middletown Mentor Program and continues to mentor “because it is a great program that is rewarding for both the mentor and the mentee”.
Why does Zuriel like having a mentor? “I like playing and beating him at games, talking and joking with him, and he listens to me, and is my friend”.
Zuriel’s mother explained that she believes, “that mentoring has been an outstanding thing for my son. It really has helped him build confidence of the realities of the world also in having someone to understand him, which he’s always had difficulty with. Having Mentor Marc has been a huge difference to Zuriel’s confidence in perseverance in life. Congratulations Marc and thank you for all your support. You definitely made a difference in my son’s life”.
Marc recommends this mentoring program to others. Marc’s wife actually became a mentor at the beginning of this school year.
School Representative, Amy Barron claims that The Hal Kaplan Middletown Mentor Program is a valuable program and believes that not only the students benefit but the mentors do as well. “The Program allows for amazing connections and relationships to be built between our students and their mentors. The students look forward to their visits from their mentors each week and show excitement when they see them waiting each week. Some students have even kept in touch with their mentors after they have left the school system as well”.
Mentors are always needed. Whether you are a business executive or a private individual with about an hour per week to spare, you can help benefit the life of a child by becoming a Hal Kaplan Middletown Mentor. We ask our community’s business people, retirees, parents, and anyone in between to consider making a lasting impression in a child’s life by becoming a mentor. The Program runs only during the school year, and there is no other obligation. Mentors meet with their mentees weekly, usually during lunch-time, on-site, at one of the Middletown Public Schools participate in the program. Application Form is available at www.middlesexchamber.com and www.middletownschools.org under Teaching and Learning.
