BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) – January marks National Mentoring Month, and a Vermont mentorship program is celebrating a big milestone.
Champlain Valley School District’s Connecting Youth mentorship program turns 25 this year. Staff say it’s brought the community together and given hundreds of students a brighter future.
Before math class or chorus, Shelburne Community School fifth-grader Nathan Hill plays Fussball. His partner is decades older, but Hill gives him a run for his money.
Hill started the school year with a goal: join Champlain Valley School District’s mentorship program. That’s when he met Mike Trombley.
“It was gonna be fun, I can hang out with Mike, I can do a lot of stuff,” said Hill.
“When we first met, he was very shy. And now we’re buddies. So just watching him open up has been fantastic,” said Trombley.
A Shelburne dad with two kids of his own in the district, Trombley wanted to help other students succeed. He hangs with Hill every Tuesday, building marble runs, talking about class, or losing a game of Fussball.
“He beats me every game. I’m getting better, though,” said Trombley.
Kids who grow up with mentors go on to lead better lives, but data shows that 1 in 3 kids don’t have someone to look up to.
Over the last 25 years, Connecting Youth has paired hundreds of fifth through twelfth graders with mentors and watched them soar.
“They’re just little kids, and then you see them by eighth grade where they sit and talk about real-life issues and what they want to do in high school, what they want to do after high school. The mentors have great conversations with them,” said Alice Brown of Shelburne Community School.
Mentors like Trombley are everyday community members who choose to step up for the next generation.
“Just to help them develop a positive attitude, zest for life, and to help them live their best life,” said Trombley.
Hill is well on his way.
See here for mentorship opportunities for your kids or to become a mentor yourself.