A mentor can became a very important person to the mentee in his/her life. Someone who has seen this first hand through her work with BCYMP is Amy Button. Amy got involved with BCYMP and joined the board in September 2017. She knew about BCYMP since the office was upstairs from her in MetaBank and became involved after speaking with BCYMP director Darla Biel. As a board member Amy attends monthly board meetings, committee meetings, and volunteers when need for various fundraisers and BCYMP activities. Read on to learn more about BCYMP through Amy’s eyes.
Why do you think mentoring is important?
I think it is a great program that fills a huge need for our youth in the area. The mentor activities I have been included in are awesome to witness. It is a great opportunity for the mentors as well.
In what ways do you think BCYMP has helped or impacted the community?
There are many youth that need a positive role model to be active in their lives. I have seen matches that are like a big brother/sister role and also a grandparent role. The possibilities are endless. The mentees that are in the program benefit from a positive influence and it hopefully improves many aspects of their life.
How can the community support BCYMP’s mission?
Financially, of course. As a non-profit that is always a #1 need, but beyond that we need help educating the public and getting the word out. There is such a need for more mentors to match with the children we have on the waiting list. So many people don’t know about the program and what they can do to help. Until BCYMP moved into the office upstairs in MetaBank, I didn’t know it existed.
What are your hopes/goals for BCYMP for 2018?
As I said above, a lot of community members don’t know about BCYMP. I want to help change that. I would like people to be more educated, because the more people that know about the program, the more help we will have actively donating and volunteering. Still being new, I am learning the aspects. I have loved being involved the last few months and look forward to volunteering and becoming even more active in 2018.