Fall Into Mentoring: The Impact of Volunteer Mentors on Young Readers’ Success
By: Madonna Addo, CFSN Lead Literacy Instructor at BD Southwest
As the leaves change colors and the air gains a crisp touch, we gear up for another fall at Center for Success Network at our Southwest site. This year is just as exciting as the last, with buzzing energy all around and the need to connect and grow. Our Southwest site is home to such a vast and diverse community of incredible people. Each and every one of us at Southwest play a role in fostering a nurturing and educative community for our wonderful students. One unique and extremely rewarding aspect of this community is the relationship between our students and the mentors they are paired with for the year. As this exhilarating time of year unfolds, we honor all the volunteers at our site who enable our students to grow in literacy, while also highlighting the need for additional mentors.
At CFSN Southwest, the relationship between mentor and student is as fruitful and evident as the impact it creates. Dozens of students get paired with incredible mentors from all across our communities to bring forth a bond that produces not only growth in literacy skills, but exceptional companionship. These pairs meet throughout the week during sessions that are curated to provide the most impactful support in areas where literacy growth is needed. The mentors provide a safe, one-on-one setting that encourages students to go beyond their own expectations. These sessions consist of joint and independent reading, decoding, letter recognition and so many more strategies and activities designed to expand students’ reading skills. We prioritize a unique approach that aims to highlight students’ strengths while addressing areas for growth. Mentors establish this connection by first understanding each child as an individual and a reader. We encourage our mentors to create a space where students feel free expressing themselves and sharing their interests beyond their reading level. We believe this nurtures confidence within a scholar and inspires them to aim beyond any self doubt in regards to their capabilities.
Over the years, we’ve managed to establish so many incredible relationships and connections with our mentors and volunteers. The dedication that members of our communities have shown to our mentoring program has left the biggest impact in the lives of our students and our Southwest community as a whole. We aim to expand our reach every year, both in terms of the students we mentor, and the individuals that support us. Through our many partnerships, we’ve managed to gain mentors and retain connections. We hope to expand our reach even further by encouraging individuals to learn more about our mentoring program and all the opportunities that come with it. We hope that the incredible sense of community that Southwest offers inspires more members of the area to become mentors to our ever growing body of scholars.
If you're interested in walking alongside one of our students, please reach out to volunteer@center4success.org.
We'd love to welcome you into our Mentor Family.