1-to-1 Mentoring Blog

Eric Hawley is a student at Concordia University who's interning here at Circle. He recently spent a busy Monday afternoon and evening taking time to walk around the facility and observe some of what was happening in Mentoring and College Readiness. Here's what he had to say:

At 4’6”, dunking a basketball isn’t very likely. Two elementary-age boys I observed in Circle’s gym didn’t care about the likelihood; they just wanted to get up there to hang on the rim. Ricky and Eric started stacking gym mats in order to jump higher. After jumping off the 3 foot stack of padded mats, the idea of hanging on the rim was forgotten amidst the fun of knocking the stack over. Eric would pretend like he was stuck under the scattered mats and Ricky would attempt to “help” by sitting on the pile, only adding to the fun. While the two boys are enjoying good, clean fun, their mentors, Adam and Jake, are with them.

As volunteers mentors, Adam and Jake really care about these boys. It’s easy to tell by the way each interacts with his mentee but more importantly by Adam and Jake’s commitment to their mentees. Both mentors attend Wheaton college which makes this weekly trek to volunteer an hour and half roundtrip. They’ve been connected to our mentoring program for a year and half now. Ricky and Eric don’t know how far away Wheaton is, or how busy being in college can be; they just understand Adam and Jake truly care for them. That’s what they need in their lives; that’s what we all need in our lives, to know we are loved. Ricky and Eric are loved by their mentors, but more importantly, they are loved by God.

As I walk the halls of Circle Urban Ministries I see a lot of activity. Kids in the afterschool program, staff members working, and mentors hanging out with their mentees. It’s easy to find a mentor and mentee hanging out, but the smell of baking brownies drew me to the kitchen. In the kitchen I met Cindy, a woman from First Presbyterian Church in River Forest, and her mentee, Lakendra. Cindy’s been matched with Lakendra for about a year, and she’s been introducing Lakendra to one of her passions, baking. Lakendra hasn’t had an opportunity to bake at home. How wonderful it is that Cindy can introduce Lakendra to a whole new experience. While they wait for the brownies to bake, they continue work on a puzzle Cindy brought from home. Conversations about school and home take place as the edge pieces are sorted out. Lakendra was shy as I tried to talk to her, but to Cindy she’s much more open.

Cindy’s commitment to Lakendra is clearly evident. Cindy wants to give the best to Lakendra because she genuinely cares about her. Mondays are a special time; Lakendra is able to experience something she can’t anywhere else: Cindy and baking. I was invited to come back and snack on the brownies when they were ready. I was definitely coming back.

The day continues and so does the food. A potluck dinner is scheduled for the College Readiness program. This program is designed to provide kids with exposure opportunities and leadership development that will help them to be equipped for college with a promising vision for their futures. This is so important because in this community, most kids don’t go to college. Many kids aren’t even encouraged to THINK about college.

At the potluck I met Nichole and her daughter Shakeea, Byron and his son Bill, and Jamar with his grandma and mom. The meeting is about what College Readiness will be doing in the near future, and where they’re at currently.

Dan, the program coordinator, informed everyone that the students’ school teachers would be cooperating with the program to help keep kids accountable to completing homework and excellent school behavior. Rewards for good grades and behavior will equal College Readiness Bucks ($). Kids could then spend this reward money on items in the store Dan set up. Items to include: pencils, folders, gift cards, mp3 players and more.

All the parents really wanted to be there to help their kids. Dan covered more ways College Readiness is going to help, as parents soaked in all the information they could. It’s easy to see the love the parents have for their kids. Even if the kids don’t yet really understand why it’s important, the parents want their kids to be successful. This program will help kids prepare for college, but also gives parent and child something to work on together.

Mentoring, After school, College Readiness, Work, and more are all going on here at Circle Urban Ministries. Lives are being changed, not by us, but through us by faith in action.