National Mentoring Month Story Contest Winner

To celebrate National Mentoring Month, the Alexandria Mentoring Partnership sponsored a Story Contest, open to all Alexandria youth ages 5 to 18.  The winner receives a $25 gift card.  Contestants were given the choice to present their story in whatever medium they chose, such as an art piece.  

The winner is 13 year old Jaylan.  Read her story below!

My mentor has been working with me for four years. She has seen me evolve from age nine to 13. She is the first mentor I have had. I get excited when it's the day for our session. 

I used to hate reading. Now I really like it because it's become much easier for me due to working with my mentor. During my free time, I read much more often than I used to. Sometimes at school during home room when other kids go on their computers to play games, I like to read a book instead. 

My mentor compliments me when I tackle a new word by sounding it out, or make text connections with my own experience; that makes me happy. She brings me little gifts from other countries she travels to so I know she was thinking about me when she was away, which makes me feel good. 

I work hard during sessions, but we also laugh a lot. We have fun reward days where we go to museums or out for lunch or to the movies. My favorite place for lunch together is a local pizza place in her neighborhood. Sometimes we go to events at Wright to Read, which are tons of fun. 

My mentor and I have a lot of things in common. We both like crazy-nuts, a food we invented by mixing craisins and peanuts. We both like French art, such as paintings by Marie Laurencin, Claude Monet, and Paul Gaugin. We both have types of arthritis; we connect on how it feels to sometimes have pain. 

On the drive to and from the session, I talk with her about what's going on in my life. And between sessions, we text each other with news, such as when I got my long hair cut short. 

She's the mentor I want to stay with forever. I want to thank her a million times because I am so grateful. 

National Mentoring Month 2017

From everyone at the Alexandria Mentoring Partnership - staff, programs, mentors, mentees, volunteers, community partners, and the City of Alexandria - we thank all those who participated in National Mentoring Month this year, and our first Alexandria Mentoring Month!

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Interested in becoming a mentor?  Book an informational phone call with us to figure out which of our 11 programs would be best for you!  

Community Lodgings Open House

"Community Lodgings’ mission is to lift families from homelessness and instability to independence and self-sufficiency through Transitional Housing, Affordable Housing and our Youth Education Programs."

When most people think of Community Lodgings, they think of the transitional and affordable housing programs that help the homeless and low-income families of Alexnadria get back on their feet and move towards a brighter future.  What many don't know is that Community Lodgings also provide youth education programs that prepare children for self-sufficiency as adults.  These programs include after school academic support, as well as mentoring.  

On Monday evenings in the neighborhood of Chirilagua, students from grades 7 through 12 meet in the two Community Lodgings offices (girls in one office, boys in another).  Last Monday, AMP stopped by the boys program, in the basement of a neighborhood apartment building, where many of the students live.  As the boys and mentors gathered, two students moved to tables on the edge of the room to finish tests and homework due the following day, before joining everyone else in the activities.  First, the boys and mentors took turns reading from A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier.  Next, everyone joined in to work on a puzzle.  

Every week brings new activities, but the same faces to Community Lodgings.  As we went to meet the mentors, we recognized them and about half the mentors from the 2015 Community Lodgings video.  The boys have grown older, the mentors more experienced, but Community Lodgings remains a safe and fun place to spend a Monday evening! 

The Untouchables Open House

Like most evenings after school, Charles Houston Rec Center in northern Old Town was a bustling place last Thursday.  In classrooms, youth engaged in dance classes, sports, and advisory programs.  Elementary school girls chatted with visitors while waiting for their friends to arrive.  And male mentors and mentees gathered for their weekly The Untouchables meeting.  

The Untouchables is one of Alexandria's oldest mentoring programs.  Founded in 1988, it has for 29 years provided guidance and support for young African-American men in the Parker-Gray neighborhood.  Many of the mentors in The Untouchables today were once mentees in the program, and came back to help the youth in their community in the same ways older men had helped them.  When asked why they came every week, mentors and mentees alike shared the sentiment that The Untouchables helped teach them how to be good people and live their lives to the fullest.  

Guests came by to watch the program from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m.  Mentors and mentees took turns taking the floor and working on their public speaking skills.  Following the program, guests, mentors, and mentees shared a meal together of salad, mac and cheese, cake, and homemade banana pudding.  

After dinner, The Untouchables received a visit from the Mayor of Alexandria, Allison Silberberg, who shared her thoughts on the importance of mentoring and how lucky the city is to have programs such as this one.  

Space Of His Own Open House

In the photo above, Kyle shows the Space Of His Own group how to finish a nail into wood, and prepare the project the boys are working on - a shodowbox - for painting.  

The sound of hammers ring out from the workshop classroom at George Washington Middle School.  Not an unusual noise, except for the fact that it's 6 p.m., long after school has ended.  But the shop teacher Kyle remains, acting as instructor and program leader of Space Of His Own.

Every Tuesday, 5th grade boys gather to meet with their mentor, learn life skills, have dinner, and engage in construction projects.  As a part of Alexandria Mentoring Month, AMP hosted an open house yesterday, where interested guests could stop by and see what Space Of His Own is all about.  

One visitor was matched with a young man whose mentor could not make it this week, and quickly stepped up to the task of holding the nearly completed shadowbox while the student finished hammering in the nails.  

Space Of His Own is open to observation any Tuesday - contact sarah.maroney@alexandriava.gov to plan your visit!  

Wright to Read Open House

Wright to Read held an event for Alexandria Mentoring Month last Thursday.  Those interested in mentoring came to the Wright to Read office in Old Town to eat snacks, talk to program staff, and hear from a current mentor.  Wright to Read was founded in 1979 by Frank and Betty Wright, and has been connecting caring volunteers with Alexandria students ever since.  Tutor/mentors meet with students once a week to work on literacy.  Wright to Read plans a weekend activity once a month for mentors and mentees to go on.  There are currently over 100 students being served by Wright to Read.  Some have been with their tutor/mentor for a decade!  

Wright to Read holds an orientation session once a month.  For those interested, start your application here. 

Alexandria Mentoring Month!!!

On January 10, January was declared Alexandria Mentoring Month at the monthly city council meeting.  Mayor Allison Silberberg announced the agenda item, noting that council members all wore blue in support of Alexandria's mentoring programs.  Councilman John T. Chapman read the proclamation declaring Alexandria Mentoring Month.  Representatives from The BRYCE Project, Community Lodgings, Space Of Her Own, The Untouchables, and Wright to Read were present to celebrate the proclamation.  

Watch the entire meeting here. 

RARE Open House

Nearly every day after classes end at Francis Hammond Middle School, 6th grade students meet with volunteers to practice math problems, work on grammar, learn code, and more.  This is RARE: a tutoring/group mentoring program sponsored by The Campagna Center.

Yesterday AMP continued its celebration of National Mentoring Month with its another Open House.  Community members interested in volunteering or just curious about youth programs were invited to drop in on RARE and talk to the volunteers, students, and staff involved.

Above: a volunteer helps a student with her language arts worksheet. Right: RARE students wrote down what they love about coming to RARE.

BRYCE Project Open House

Community Service and Youth Enrichment are two of the tenants of the BRYCE Project.  Started four year ago, BRYCE meets on Monday evenings, where high school girls and volunteers gather in a safe space to do service projects.  Members also meet for weekend events.  This past Saturday, BRYCE traveled to the Microsoft store in Pentagon City to take classes on coding and Microsoft Office.

In honor of National Mentoring Month, the Alexandria Mentoring Partnership joined with BRYCE to set up an "Open House" by tabling outside the Microsoft store, and inviting mall goers to go in and see what the mentoring program was up to.