The Mentoring Alliance held its year-end party at Flowery School on Friday with close to 600 people attending. The 13th annual celebration brings mentors and mentees together with their families for a party that is truly a celebration of how a community comes together to work together for the betterment of all.
Tina Baldry said she is always amazed by the turnout. “I love to see the crowd that this event draws. It’s a great feeling to have so many community members committed to this program,” said Baldry.
The good will and feelings of bon ami flooded the Flowery campus as students danced the “Hoedown Showdown,” rode the ponies and jumped in the giant palm-tree embellished bounce house. A barbeque was provided free of charge and a rope show complete with vaquero entertained the crowd of onlookers.
Mentees Stephanie, Roxanna, Selena and Marlena have all had mentors since very early elementary school and say that the program is great. “It’s cool to have someone to talk to; someone who really listens to what I’m saying,” said Stephanie. They watched enraptured as the vaquero did his tricks and were thrilled to be called upon when it was time to be “roped.”
The party is a thank-you to mentors and their mentees, and everyone – from the newest to the most seasoned veterans – turns out.
Wayne Schake is a long-time dedicated mentor who has not one, but two mentees. According to Baldry, Schake is a great role model for the boys, enriching their lives and expanding their horizons. He goes out of his way to engage them in many extra-curricular activities and encourages them to do well in school.
“A lot of mentors meet at school but I prefer to do outside activities,” said Schake. “I’ve taken my mentees to the Sonoma Valley Museum of Art and plays at the high school. We’ve seen the Blue Angels fly during Fleet Week and we go to the Sonoma County fair every year. I’d rather go places than sit and chit chat.”
Schake also said he’s learned a lot from his mentees. Both boys are Hispanic and Schake gets insight into their community that he otherwise wouldn’t. “My grandkids are older than my mentees so these boys keep me back in that phase of young people’s lives. They’re good kids, smart kids and I can open a world for them and help make them better people,” said Schake.
On the other side of the fence is fledgling mentor, Beverly Pearson who eagerly awaited the arrival of her nine-year-old mentee at the Flowery party. Recently widowed with time on her hands, Pearson said she literally “sat up in bed one night and knew this is what I needed to be doing.”
According to Kathy Witkowicki, executive director of the Mentoring Alliance, the party is the last hurrah for mentors and their mentees before summer break. “With the schools closed during the summer, we like to encourage mentors to make a plan with their mentees and families for how they’ll see each other over the break. Mentoring doesn’t end with the school year,” said Witkowicki.
As has been typical with the mentoring program, there are currently more girls (65 percent) than boys (35 percent) with mentors. Part of this is due to the fact that 75 percent of the mentors are women while only 25 percent are men. The Mentoring Alliance is always looking for additional mentors and especially welcomes men looking to step up to the plate. At present, there are 80 boys on the waiting list, with some having been there for years.
To contact the Mentoring Alliance, call 938-1990 or visit sonomamentoring.org.
