by David Chapman
Staff Writer
During his installation, Meninak President Bunky Johnson made it a point to emphasize his plan to increase the organization’s participation in mentoring throughout 2009. Monday’s meeting was just the beginning.
Lynn Sherman, chair of Mentor First Coast, spoke to the crowd of nearly 100 on the process and benefits of mentoring, and brought representatives of six of the organization’s members to meet and greet with the potential Meninak mentors.
“If you are a mentor, anything is possible,” said Sherman. “It allows you to make a true impact with children and in the community.”
Sherman noted Jacksonville mentoring and problem statistics, while explaining how mentoring can deter negative trends in divorce, murder and unwed teenage mothers.
The area’s need for qualified mentors is strong, said Sherman, as 45,000 children in Duval County are in need of a mentor.
“Children have the potential to succeed in life and contribute to society,” said Sherman. “However, not all children get the opportunity to succeed ... we’ve got to take the blinders off and start building relationships.”
Officials from Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northeast Florida, Communities in Schools, Take Stock in Children, daniel, YMCA and Safe Harbor Boys Home attended the meeting and set up informational booths, in hopes to attract a few new mentors.
“Our goal is to sign up 90 Meninak members as mentors this year,” said Johnson. “A day like today is great and can really help us reach that goal.”
As president of the civic club, one of Johnson’s authorities is to create committees when he sees the need, and to coincide with his mentoring goal, he created a mentoring committee earlier this year that’s chaired by Melanie Messer of Cathedral Arts Project.
“So far, things are going very well (for the mentoring committee),” said Messer. “We’re just hoping to keep this momentum going and keep helping.”
Tentative plans call for a second Meninak meeting dedicated to mentoring sometime just before school starts in the fall, said Johnson, as the timing would better enable members to see the continued need and allow them to better match up with students.
One Meninak member who has already been involved in mentoring spoke highly of the experience during the program and encouraged others to follow suit.
“We’ve been able to grow together,” said Jan Korb, president of BroadBased Communications, on her relationship with 11 year-old Mikayla.
Korb said she’s been a mentor to Mikayla for more than two years and has helped her perform better in the classroom while enjoying things — fishing, riding bikes, playing board games — the young student might not normally do or experience.
Korb’s testimonial was one that resonated with Sherman, who further stressed the need for mentors within the community to the group.
“Mentors are critical, you’re critical,” said Sherman. “We can do it one child at a time.”
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