4-H, middle school develop mentorship program
Published 4:44 pm Thursday, January 7, 2016
- Cumberland students Amir Berry, left, and Amir McClinton enjoy an afternoon on a historical ship on the James River at the Henricus Days Historical event in Chester during a mentoring program event.
In collaboration with the Cumberland County 4-H Program, the county’s middle school has implemented the 4-H Mentoring: Youth and Families with Promise program.
The purpose of the program is “to increase the developmental assets of youth ages 10-14 and their families,” said Jeffrey Dingeldein, the principal of Cumberland’s middle school. “We identify students who need more support during a regular school day.”
Dingeldein said a mentoring program was implemented at the middle school about a year-and-a-half ago, but this is the first year that the program has been in place in collaboration with Cumberland’s 4-H Program through a grant.
Awarded from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), the grant is a part of the National 4-H Council’s initiative to aid young people in need.
“There’s funding in 47 of 50 states for this,” said county resident Yvonne Earvin, a Cumberland 4-H mentor educator. “We worked on the grant and actually got it.”
Cumberland County Middle School students, from left, Amir McClinton, mentor educator Yvonne Earvin, Kortnei Settle and Savannah Dickson pose at the photography exhibition held as part of the 4-H Mentoring: Youth and Families with Promise program.
Earvin said the program would not be able to flourish at its current level without the grant from OJJDP.
“I was a big sister [at Big Brothers and Sisters of America] when I lived in Richmond,” said Earvin.
She said being a mentor there inspired her to approach Division Superintendent Dr. Amy Griffin and Dingeldein about coordinating a mentor program for the middle school.
Dingeldein said the program helps students who need people to connect with while teaching emotional skills, as well as other activities.
He said these activities include one-on-one group mentoring, 4-H activities and family nights out.
Earvin said the mentors meet with the students at the middle school once a week after school to discuss social issues and perform activities. “It’s a school-based program,” she said.
According to Earvin, the mentoring program has created the opportunity to coordinate activities for students when school is out in the summer. She said the group has taken trips to Pocahontas Park and participated in many activities, such as watching a Richmond Flying Squirrels baseball game.
“The kids have had experiences they may not have had otherwise,” said Earvin.
Currently, the mentorship program has about nine mentors that provide services to students.
Earvin said Cumberland is only the fourth locality in the state of Virginia to have implemented such a mentoring program.
In addition to providing students with the opportunity to learn skills, Earvin said the program encourages family participation through family night.
She said parents and other family members are given the opportunity to see their child interact with mentors, building a new level of trust with parents.
Because there is a 4-H component of the program, students are encouraged to participate in other 4-H activities, according to Earvin.
Short-term goals for the program include improving academic performance, enhancing social competencies and strengthening family bonds for the students.
Long-term goals involve increasing developmental assets and decreasing juvenile delinquency.
For more information on the program or to volunteer, contact Earvin at the Cumberland County Extension Office at (804) 492-4390.
