Waimea Middle School Needs Volunteer Mentors

The “ask” seems modest: Would you consider spending an hour of time each month throughout the school year mentoring a 6th, 7th or 8th grade Waimea Middle School student?  For many volunteers, this small “ask” often grows to a few more hours a month (or week), as students and volunteers connect and truly enjoy their time together. 

It all sounds warm and fuzzy, but years of research confirm that a mentor can make a huge difference in the life of a middle school adolescent.  And, the experience at Waimea Middle School, now in its fourth year of running its Connecting For Success student mentoring program under the generous auspices of Hawai’i Community Foundation, is that the students are making a huge difference in the lives of their mentors too.  It’s definitely a win-win.

With the start of 2016-17 school year, WMS’ Connecting For Success Community Outreach Coordinator Angela Pastores is recruiting mentors for about 60 students.  This year they especially need male mentors.  There is a screening and training process in place; mentors are interviewed and must undergo the standard fingerprinting and have or get a TB test.  Then the training occurs. 

No special skills are required and mentors to date have come from literally all walks of life – and all ages and backgrounds.  The school carefully pairs mentors up with a mentee and works closely with both throughout the year. All mentoring occurs on the school campus.

Mentoring is an important strategy for the CFS program, but it also includes a range of supports to ensure the student is doing his or her best in class, turning in assignments on time, attends school regularly, and that families are kept informed and involved. 

WMS’ Connecting For Success was not originally envisioned to extend into the fourth year, but the program has had such a positive impact on students that Hawai’i Community Foundation awarded the school fourth year funding.  

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If you are interested in finding out more about what it means to become a WMS Connecting For Success mentor, call Angela Pastores (808-443-3666) or email: Angela_Pastores@wmpccs.org. 

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For more information about Connecting for Success, go to the school website: www.WaimeaMiddleSchool.org.