MANSFIELD, Ohio – Thanks to a new grant opportunity, North End Community Improvement Collaborative (NECIC) is seeking mentors for Real Opportunities for Achievement and Readiness (ROAR), a program that will allow locals to share their knowledge and experience with students in grades 7 through 12.
“We are really hopeful that we get people from all walks of life [as mentors],” said NECIC Community Programs Coordinator Diane Ottolenghi. “One of the things that is really important is that you, as a student, are able to see yourself in someone that is standing up before you, saying, ‘Hey, look at what you can do.’ We really want a wide range of individuals.”
ROAR, a collaborative effort between NECIC and local businesses, nonprofits, faith-based organizations, and education system, will focus on Mansfield City School students, and is funded by the Community Connectors grant.
A press release from the Ohio Department of Education explained that 82 community partnerships will share more than $6.8 million as part of Ohio’s new Community Connectors school mentorship program. In all, the state received 192 applications for funding and each application included a business, civic and values-based partner organization.
Ohio Gov. John R. Kasich proposed the creation of the Community Connectors program in his 2014 State of the State address to help give more Ohio students access to role models who can help motivate and inspire them, as well as help them develop skills that lead to success in school and the workplace, stated the press release.
“A lot of this is about what we call ‘Developing a Future Story.’ So often kids that are growing up in poverty just don’t have that. They have a dim outlook,” Ottolenghi explained. The program will help students develop confidence and have a purpose or a goal.
“One of the programs for 7th and 8th grade students is called ‘Peace Begins with You,’ so we’ll be doing that within the classroom…mentors will have the opportunity to participate in that,” she said. ROAR will hold HOPE events, an acronym for Help Our People Excel.
“We’re also working with the business community to have job fairs, job shadowing, internships, people coming into the classroom to talk about jobs, and career exploration,” Ottolenghi continued.
The students are not the only ones that will find enrichment in the program. “There are a lot of different benefits people get from being a mentor,” she said.
Anyone age 18 or over may volunteer to be a mentor. “Peer to peer mentoring, research shows, is just extremely effective,” said Ottolenghi.
Training will be provided and a background check is required.
Information sessions for those interested in mentoring will be held Tuesday, Aug. 18 from 5:15 p.m. to 6 p.m. and Monday, Aug. 24, from 12:15 p.m. to 1 p.m. at NECIC, 199 N. Main St, Mansfield. For more information or to register, contact Diane Ottolenghi at 419-525-3101 or Diane@necic-ohio.org.
