DI mentors mold young minds, shape future lives

You don’t need to be perfect to be a mentor, according to Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Lowcountry President and CEO Merridith Crowe. 
 
“Being a mentor is not like being a parent; it’s better,” Crowe said. “We’re looking for individuals who are interested in helping young people discover their strengths and talents, develop a stronger sense of self, and strong aspirations for their future.” 
 
January is National Mentoring Month, a time to join together as a community to help young people realize their hopes and dreams.
 
Big Brothers Big Sisters provides one-on-one mentoring relationships that support the social and emotional development of children between the ages of 7 and 18 in the Charleston tri-county area. Mentors, called Bigs, spend two hours, twice a month with their mentees, or
Littles, engaged in activities of their choice.
 
“It’s not fancy, it’s ordinary time where that child is the center of the world; that is the power behind the program,” Crowe said. “Our Littles do better in school, they develop healthier relationships with their peers and their parents, and they end up being more likely to avoid risky behaviors that can derail their futures.”
 
When Sydney Carella was a child, her older sister had a Big, and that sparked her desire to become a mentor. “The Big Sister was just so cool; she would pick up my sister and go on all sorts of adventures,” Carella said. “As I got older I thought, ‘I’m going to do that someday.’”
 
Carella, a logistics brokerage supervisor who also teaches music and coaches girls volleyball, was matched with her Little Sister last year. Janessa is 12 years old and loves animals, music and grilled cheese sandwiches. The pair enjoy walking around local parks, selecting books at the library, and going out for ice cream. 
 
“The opportunity to see things through a child’s eyes again… it’s a reminder of how beautiful growing up is,” Carella said. 
 
Last year, Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Lowcountry supported 200 mentor matches, with a goal of 300 this year. But 400 kids are still waiting for a mentor and the organization was awarded a grant from the Daniel Island Community Foundation to support matches on Daniel Island and the Cainhoy peninsula. 
 
“It’s an easy way to give back to your community and it’s really fun to have an impact and an influence on the younger generation,” Carella said. 
 
Steve Smith knows the power of mentoring, something he has done most of his life. “My first job was teaching swim lessons and I saw how much you can help people if you just give them a little bit of your time and effort,” said Smith, an attorney who has spent decades serving on local YMCA and school boards, along with coaching and officiating youth sports.
 
When Smith began his law career, his mother told him he better be nice; advice he took to heart and now shares with new lawyers he mentors through the South Carolina Bar. “We don’t have to be aggressive against each other to be successful,” he said. “You can get your point across by showing professionalism and civility.” 
 
Last year Smith became a mentor and coach for First Tee of Greater Charleston, a youth development program that introduces children to the game of golf while instilling core values and teaching life skills like conflict resolution, goal setting, honesty and perseverance. The chapter provides educational opportunities to more than 17,000 children each year in Charleston, Berkeley, and Dorchester counties.
 
As part of the nonprofit’s summer camp enrichment program, Smith orchestrated a mock trial in Charleston’s old courthouse with a judge and jury. “It was Jack and the Beanstalk, and they had to figure out whether Jack murdered the giant or whether it was self-defense,” Smith explained. “The kids were really receptive and really got into it, they did a great job.”
 
Smith said mentoring has taught him to be a calmer person and to put life’s problems into perspective, but what he enjoys most is helping children and young adults learn new things and overcome their struggles.
 
“If you show them you care about what’s going on in their lives and you want to help them, kids help themselves,” Smith said. “They need direction, they need a good role model, and they need someone to show they care about their happiness and their success.”  
 
Benefits of Mentoring 
(Source: youth.gov)
 
Benefits for youth:
● Increased high school graduation rates
● Healthier relationships and lifestyle choices
● Better attitude about school
● Enhanced self-esteem and self-confidence
● Improved behavior, both at home and at school
 
Benefits for mentors:
● Increased self-esteem
● A sense of accomplishment
● Creation of networks of volunteers
● Insight into childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood
● Increased patience and improved supervisory skills 
 
Youth Mentoring Organizations
● Be a Mentor (beamentornow.org) 
● Big Brother Big Sisters of the Lowcountry (bbbslowcountry.org) 
● First Tee of Greater Charleston (firstteegreatercharleston.org) 
● I-Beam (ecfaithnetwork.org) 
● Youth Empowerment Services (yescouncil.org)
 

Daniel Island Publishing

225 Seven Farms Drive
Unit 108
Daniel Island, SC 29492 

Office Number: 843-856-1999
Fax Number: 843-856-8555

 

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