Program prepares men to fill voids in boys' lives
Oil HhVlN WALKER
THE CHRONICLE
As they sat in bright yellow
and orange chairs, more than a
dozen men got a crash course in
Mentoring 101.
The men were schooled on the
art of being an adult mentor in a
basement classroom at the Best
Choice Center Monday evening.
,They took notes, asked questions
and held lively discussions on rel
evant subjects, attempting to
soak in as much as they possibly
could.
Mere weeks from now, the
men will have to put their lessons
to practical use; they'll be shad
owed for at least a year by young,
impressionable boys, many of
whom have never had a male
presence in their lives.
The mentors wrapped up their
training Monday and graduated
into the ranks of the five-year-old
Mentoring for Success program.
The program was begun after the
;N.C. Department of Health and
Human Services lobbied the Gen
eral Assembly for funds to initiate
a statewide adult mentoring pro
gram aimed at curbing juvenile
violence, drug use and dropout
rates.
* The Best Choice Center has
been a site for the program from
?the beginning. It was chosen in
1994 as one of five demonstration
sites in the state.
"Our goal is to match as many
young African American males
with African American (men) as
possible," said Dorothy Gra
ham-Wheeler, director of BCC
and project administrator for the
mentoring program.
Graham-Wheeler said male
mentors must be stable and
upstanding citizens. Although
many of the mentors are profes
sionals, the program does not dis
criminate.
"Our mentors come from all
walks of life ... police officers,
firemen, laymen, pastors," Gra
ham-Wheeler said. It varies by
individual, but, on average, men
tors are asked to spend a couple
of hours with their mentees - the
term used for the boys in the pro
gram - twice each month.
Mentees range in age from 8 to
15.
Mentors are vigorously
recruited, Graham-Wheeler said.
They are scoped out at social
functions, churches and universi
ties. The group of men that just
finished the mentor training are
all members of the Psi Phi Chap
ter of Omega Psi Phi fraternity.
They range in ages from 25 to
77. Some have children of their
own at home; others have chil
dren who have long since moved
out and started their own fami
lies. In addition to sleek certifi
cates of completion, the new
mentors received profile packages
of their mentees, listing their
hobbies, ages and family informa
tion.
The mentors' first order of
business is to make contact with
their mentees right away, said Bill
Riddick, state facilitator for the
program and longtime mentor.
Riddick travels the state teaching
prospective mentors the dos and
don'ts of the job.
His students say Riddick's
informal lessons are always spirit
ed - jam-packed with serious and
hysterical episodes from his more
than a decade of mentoring.
On this night, Riddick
encouraged the men to broaden
their mentees' minds through the
ater, concerts and other cultural
activities. He also told the men to
take active roles in the mentees'
studies. Some mentors have even
visited their mentee's schools for
conferences with teachers and
prinpipals.
"If children are not successful
in school, they are not going to be
successful as your mentee," Rid
dick said, motioning to a small
chalk board with the names of
the men's mentees scrolled down
it. 5
Riddick told the men that the
time they spend with their
mentees will have a long-lasting
effect on the youngsters. An adult
mentor has been the shot in the
arm that many young people have
needed to turn their lives around,
Riddick said.
"All the kids who have been
mentored have done well ? all of
them!" Riddick said.
"When you look at the statis
tics from around the state, they
are outstanding."
The new mentors said they
could have been doing other
things - especially in the midst of
the Major League Baseball play
offs - but they expressed their
desire to give back to a communi
ty that fostered their success and
to give young people the same
opportunities adults gave them as
children.
"If I can't take time to help
someone, then my living would be
in vain," said Clark Hanner, who
works for American Express.
Hanner, who has a son of his
own, says he is not fretting over
his initial meeting with his
mentee, although he knows that
it will be an everyday learning
process and that he may stumble
along the way.
"If you mentor the way you
live everything should be all
right," he said.
At 77, Henry Jones Jr. is the
oldest in the new mentor class.
An active retiree, Jones spent the
better part of his life working for
the school system as a teacher,
coach and eventually an adminis
trator.
"Anything that I can do to
help young black children, I'll do
it," Jones said, giving his reason
for getting involved in the pro
gram. Jones doesn't want his age
to be a factor in his mentoring
duties, though he admits that it
may cause some apprehension
with his mentee at first.
But Jones is not expecting any
major obstacles; he points to his
40-plus years working with
youngsters in the schools as his
best qualification.
See Maotor on A11
Men make vow to help young boys after
completing intensive training program
Ftiotos by T. Kevin Walter
Clark Manner, right, a first-time mentor; talks wvMv a veteran mentor after Monday's training class.
r^?? t?i?
Bill Mddkk reaches the art of montoring to a group of voluntoor* during a class Monday at the Best
Choice Center. Riddiek loads such classes at shot throughout the state.
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