Elodie from Space Of Her Own

Rebecca and Elodie met through the SOHO program back in 2014. On the first day of the program, they were sitting together and immediately had a great connection. Rebecca is from El Salvador originally and is very interested in other cultures and Elodie is from France and loves to share her love for international travel. Rebecca quickly asked Elodie to talk to her about her country, cultural differences and what language people speak in France. Elodie also wanted to find out about Rebecca’s original country of El Salvador. A friendship quickly built from there.

Each Thursday evening, they met through the SOHO program and worked on art projects together, including painting, making pillows, ceramics, and other projects with the objective to create a space for Rebecca in her home. At the end of the program, Rebecca was sharing a room with her brother and made her “corner” her own space with crafts she had worked on all year long with Elodie along with some new fun things they bought together.

After two years of starting the program, Elodie and Rebecca have a close friendship and see each other on a regular basis to see movies, go to coffee, do some shopping or just talk about school, life, and everything in between. As Elodie says, “Rebecca has brought so much more to my life than I had ever imagined. We have a very strong bond that I plan to cherish for life”. Elodie was so happy when Rebecca told her that she had decided to take French in middle school and promised Rebecca to take her to Europe when she graduates from high school.

This article was previously published in the Alexandria Gazette,  http://www.connectionnewspapers.com/news/2017/feb/10/mentor-week-cross-cultural-connection/

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.