WINDSOR, Vt. — Today Windsor County Mentors (WCM) announced that it will immediately begin offering mentoring programs in New Hampshire’s Sullivan County.
Local community groups from Sullivan County reached out at the end of 2021 to encourage WCM to consider offering its services in New Hampshire as there are currently very limited options for children to benefit from mentoring in Sullivan County. WCM has accepted that challenge.
WCM will be offering both community- and school-based mentoring options in Sullivan County. In both programs, after mentors complete a comprehensive background check and several hours of initial training, they are matched with a local child. In WCM’s community program mentors and mentees meet for two hours a week out in the community and engage in whatever activities they find fun or useful – from learning a new skill to just playing games. In the school program, mentors and mentees meet for an hour a week at the child’s school during the school day.
The benefits of mentoring are many. Strong social science research has shown that youth with mentors have:
— Increased high school graduation rates
— Higher college enrollment rates and higher educational aspirations
— Enhanced self-esteem and self-confidence
— Improved behavior, both at home and at school
— Stronger relationships with parents, teachers, and peers
— Decreased likelihood of initiating drug and alcohol use
Any parent, teacher, or community member can refer a child to WCM for a mentor. Any adult over 18 can apply to become a mentor. WCM can be contacted at [email protected].
Windsor County Mentors was founded in 1974 and has been creating and supporting mentoring relationships between caring adults and youth ever since. WCM has traditionally served all 24 towns in Windsor County, Vermont, the state’s largest county.
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