YouthBuild Mentoring
Tommy McClain saw a worker putting supports on a palm tree in Florida. The worker responded, “If you straighten them out when they are young, then they grow straight for the rest of their lives.”
Tommy has been a mentor for years, and is the Mentoring coach for YouthBuild USA. He was on a special trip to help Marion and Jefferson County YouthBuild recruit mentors for their teenage participants.
The YouthBuild Mentoring Open House was held in Centralia, but mentors are needed in Mt. Vernon as well.
Continuing with Tommy’s story… trees that lean may take years of support to make straight again. The trees are just like the young adults that are in the YouthBuild program, they need support to deal with the obstacles in life. They need tutoring to get their GED, and start looking for a job. They need a friend to talk to and support them when they are leaning the wrong direction.
You can be a mentor for a young person in your city. You make friends. You have fun. You will see growth in the mentee. Even in difficult times, being a mentor is rewarding.
Trees that grow straighter are stronger and will help protect the community. Tommy told us about the palm trees he saw in Florida. There was a line of straight trees that had protected the houses from a hurricane, and where there were no trees the houses had tarps covering the lost roofs and siding.
The youth will grow up and be the adults. They will hold the jobs. They will make the decisions. They will have kids of their own. Trees that lean may expose their roots, making them weaker and more vulnerable. Making sure they have good roots and support system is essential to the future of our communities.
Trees that grow big and strong will shade the smaller trees so they don’t lean toward the light. Tommy explains that you don’t have to do anything special to be a mentor. Show them that there are people out there that go to work, pay their bills, and support their families. Be a friend, someone they can depend on, someone they can call in a time of need. Just be yourself.
Help us provide the support, so our youth grow straight and tall. So they can go on to support our community and their families. Become a mentor, today.
For more questions on becoming a mentor contact
Christy Garner, YouthBuild Mentoring Coordinator
at 618-242-6731 or email