Organizations seek volunteers to meet demands for youth mentorship
You may take for granted that most people believe in the positive impact of youth mentorship. It may be a surprise, then, that youth mentorship in Greenville County falls well below the national average. Even before the 2020 pandemic, only 2.2% of Greenville County youth were in a formal mentoring relationship, compared to the national average of 8%.
Greenville Mentoring Collaborative (GMC) Director Alecia Brewster explains that GMC started coming together about four years ago because schools and youth-serving organizations were having difficulty finding mentors to fill their needs. These conversations led community leaders to engage in a study of mentoring in Greenville County.
At the time of the study, there were about a dozen organizations providing some type of mentoring. However, “the individual agencies, operating in silos, just couldn’t meet the demand,” Brewster says. GMC was formed to bring the community, organizations, mentors, and mentees together more effectively.
Last year, federal COVID-19 relief dollars were used to create a position for Brewster as GMC’s Director. GMC began developing a strategic plan focused on mentor recruitment, capacity building for organizations, and mentorship advocacy.
For anyone considering volunteering, Brewster says the most important thing is commitment. Mentoring organizations equip mentors with training and support, and most programs require mentors to spend an hour a week helping their mentee reach their goals (whether social, emotional, behavioral or academic).
“We’re looking for people from all walks of life who are flexible, willing to learn new things, and able to see situations from different points of view,” Brewster says. She notes that kids with mentors are more likely to graduate high school, attend college, become leaders and give back to their communities.
For more information about serving as a mentor, supporting mentor organizations, or donating to GMC’s work, please visit www.GVLmentoring.org.
