Kathy Witkowicki (front row, second from left), with supporters of the Sonoma Valley Stand By Me Mentoring Alliance and members of the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors.
Karen Preuss/Sonoma Valley Sun
The Sonoma Valley Stand By Me Mentoring Alliance was honored by the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, with a prestigious Jefferson Award for Public Service. The award is part of a national program created by the American Institute for Public Service, an organization founded in 1972 by Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Senator Robert Taft, Jr. and Sam Beard to create a “Nobel Price” for public and community service. The Sonoma County Board of Supervisors adopted the program last year to recognize local community leaders.
This year, the board recognized the Sonoma Valley Stand By Me Mentoring Alliance, which creates and supervises long-term one-on-one relationships between caring adults and at-risk school children in need of support. Established in 1996, the mentorship program now serves five elementary schools and Sonoma Valley High school, ensuring that 400 children in Sonoma have a mentor in their lives. The mentoring alliance was recognized as an example of superior mentoring services throughout the state and the epitome of community support.
Supervisor Valerie Brown, who presented the award, read a statement written by “mentee, Amanda,” which sums the power of the program. “To the world, you may be one person,” the little girl wrote, “but to one person, you may be the world.” Brown praised the program’s Executive Director Kathy Witkowicki as an “energizing” person to whom one can’t say “no.” She praised the program as “phenomenal.” “Not only are there 400 children involved in the program,” she said, “but there are 120 on the waiting list.” Part of the magic of the mentoring relationship is that it does not need to end when school is out. “I’m always hearing stories from people about having taken their mentees somewhere,” said Brown, “and about the incredible reward of working one-on-one with these kids. Once they start, they tend to follow them all the way though college, even seeing them get married.” The whole point, she said, is to help children while they’re most receptive, and most in need of being helped. “You want to catch children before they fall.”
Kathy Witkowicki, receiving the award, said, “This is truly a wonderful honor. I get the privilege of standing up here, but I have a whole hoard of people who take part in the program–my staff, my board. It is truly a joint effort on the part of the community of Sonoma Valley.” She praised the community for its generosity. “If I were an at-risk family, I’d move to Sonoma Valley!” she said, “It is a place where they are so taken care of, and the Mentoring Alliance is just one facet of that care. Civic engagement and community service is alive and well in our valley and we’re thrilled that you brought the Jefferson Awards to Sonoma County, and thank you very much. It’s a great honor.”
To learn more about the Sonoma Valley Mentoring Alliance visit www.sonomamentoring.org or call 938-1990.
