by Richard Prior
Staff Writer
Helping others is sometimes no more complicated than lending an ear.
“Becoming a mentor is something I’ve always wanted to do, and now I have,” said Kathy Harper. “I’m so excited about it.”
Harper, director of communications for the Jacksonville & the Beaches Convention & Visitors Bureau, had considered joining Big Brothers Big Sisters when she was out in Salt Lake City.
“But I was working the Olympics there and got busy with my job,” she said. “Now I’m back in my hometown. I just bought a house, and I’m settling into my job.
“The timing was right, and this is a great way to give back.”
Harper was motivated to become a mentor when she read a Daily Record story about Mike Weinstein, former head of of the Jacksonville Economic Development Commission, getting involved with Take Stock in Children.
The program started in South Florida and has been in Duval County since 1995, said Mentor Coordinator Melissa Ramirez. In this coming year, Take Stock will be in every county in Florida.
“Students are referred to us through school administrations,” said Ramirez. “We’re looking for any adult willing to share an hour with a student.”
The program provides low-income children with a mentor who will meet with them for an hour a week.
“Students searching for mentors must have at least a 2.5 grade point average,” Ramirez said. Students sign a contract that calls for them to behave in school, maintain good grades and stay crime- and drug-free.
Those who abide by the contract through high school will receive a four-year tuition scholarship to any state-supported community college or university.
Take Stock has scholars in every middle and high school in Duval County.
Mentors who sign up for the program are asked to fill out a form and submit it to the Take Stock office. After it is reviewed, there is a 35- or 40-minute interview, followed by a background check.
The final step is a mentor training workshop.
“It’s a one-night training session that lasts about two, three hours,” said Harper. “They help you know what to expect, what’s appropriate and what’s not. You learn what the kids are looking for and how you can be a good mentor.
“They brace you for the process.”
Take Stock now has 376 mentors, about 22 shy of being at 100 percent, Ramirez said. That percentage is going to change in February as the program recruits about 60 new students.
“Absolutely, we need more mentors,” said Ramirez.
After the match is made, Take Stock buys a Florida Prepaid Two-Plus-Two Scholarship for the students.
“The premise is they will then go off to college and become productive citizens,” Ramirez said. “Then they can come back into the community, become business professionals . . . and keep the cycle going.
“The catch is, I can identify the students and qualify them, but you can’t actually award them into the program until I have a mentor ready to match.”
Those who are interested in learning more about the program should call Ramirez at 354-5918, ext. 118.
Harper met her mentee, 13-year-old Cheslee Ealey, during the contract signing.
“That was two weeks ago,” said Harper. “She was with her mom and sister.
“She was kind of quiet at first, I guess. In the beginning, we were both a little tentative. I wasn’t sure what to say, and I’m sure she wasn’t either.”
The mentor’s commitment is for one hour a week at the student’s school during school hours.
“I go to her school; we sit down and talk about things,” said Harper. “When I was in training, they said that’s what a lot of the kids are looking for.
“When you’re growing up, it’s hard to tell your parents everything. It helps if there’s another adult in your life you can go to to ask those tough questions. So we talk about anything from schoolwork to whatever she wants to talk about.
“And I’m looking at it as gaining a new friend.”