YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Ryan Pastore started mentoring through the United Way of Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley’s program at Youngstown Community School in 2016 and he believes he gets more out of it than the students.
“It’s a great experience,” says Pastore, who is vice president of client and community relations at PNC.
He’s a report card mentor, meeting with the students four times per school year. Pastore looks forward to the meetings.
“It’s not a huge time commitment,” he says, encouraging others to try it.
The United Way is looking for mentors. More information is available at the organization’s website.
Kielly Rapp, United Way director of early education, says in addition to the report card mentoring program, United Way also provides a mentoring program for girls.
“And this year, we’re launching a men’s group,” she says.
The agency works in EJ Blott Guy Elementary in Liberty, Boardman Glenwood Junior High and Boardman Center Intermediate School, Youngstown Community School and Taft Elementary and East Middle schools, both of which are part of the Youngstown City School District.
“We’re looking for mentors, specifically in our women’s group at Boardman Center Intermediate School,” Rapp explains. “We have about 30 girls in that program. We’re looking for about 15 more mentors to get involved.”
That’s a weekly commitment of an hour.
“Each Monday is a very intricate curriculum,” she says. “So, if it’s self-confidence, we have activities that work around that self-confidence.”
Topics are adjusted based on what’s going on in the school. Addressing grief was a focus when a student at one of the schools died during the school year.
At the YCSD schools, United Way also relies on outside providers to assist with the programs.
Bob Hannon, president of the United Way of Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley, says both students and mentors in all of the agency’s mentoring programs derive benefit from them.
“With the report card mentoring, there’s no question we’ve seen improvement,” he says. “The students don’t want to let their mentors down.”
With the other mentoring programs too, students look forward to seeing their mentors. Many students have been let down so regularly that an adult at each mentoring session who is interested in their lives, makes a difference, Hannon says.
United Way also has a girls’ mentoring program at Boardman Glenwood Junior High, working with seventh and eighth grade girls who are selected by school counselors. They meet monthly.
Topics last year included social media skills and workforce development, social skills and entrepreneurship. The mentors also worked at some schools on interviewing skills.
Within the two YCSD schools, mentors work to ease transitions from elementary to middle or from middle to high school.
United Way started its mentoring program in 2014 with 12 students. This year, it’s up to more than 300.
“Our goal for our program is, first and foremost, to have a safe environment [where] they can talk about things happening within their background, within their lives,” Rapp says. “Our second goal is to always look at their attendance and their academic skills.”
If a mentor sees a drop in either a student’s attendance or grades, they try to connect them with a counselor to get more help.
The third goal is to expose students to new experiences.
The new men’s group will launch this year at Glenwood. United Way is looking for men and businesses to mentor those male students. That will involve a weekly commitment.
This program will focus on workforce development, including the trades and financial professions.
“We’re trying to cover all of the different sectors. So, we are looking for some men in the community to help,” Rapp says.
She says any adult has something to offer students. The most important thing is consistency. Students get excited to meet with their mentors and disappointed if their mentor misses a session.
For report card mentoring, the mentors review the report card with the student each semester. They set goals together and check the progress at each meeting.
Pastore rewards the students he mentors with their favorite candy or snack, anything from Skittles to Hot Fries. He sometimes travels to a couple of different stores to find each student’s pick. “I had no idea what Takis were until I started,” he says.
Having been a mentor for so many years, he’s seen students from fifth grade through eighth until they move on to a different school. He’s witnessed progress.
“Their confidence builds along the way,” Pastore says. “Their handshake gets better, their eye contact.”
It’s a fun age and the students are intelligent and funny.
“Most of the mentors we have are there every time,” he says. “Some have been there as long as I have. It’s something we all look forward to.”
Pictured at top: Bob Hannon, president of the United Way of Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley.