|
Inside this Issue
County Supervisors and President’s council Honor Mentor VolunteersA strong desire to offer unconditional friendship, encouragement, consistency and commitment to a CYS client has been the thread linking four outstanding volunteer mentors: Elizabeth Shewring, Margo Jolly, Asha Patel and Barry Sohl. Each were recently honored in various ceremonies for their outstanding volunteer contributions as CYS-Project Together and Aspen Community Services mentors. Elizabeth and Margo were among 36 individuals, 4 groups and 1 corporate partner who were given special recognition in April by the Orange County Board of Supervisors for their volunteer achievements in 2004. Since October 2003, Elizabeth Shewring has served as a volunteer mentor with CYS-PT. Initially she mentored a 5-year-old boy. When the match with the boy ended, Elizabeth’s six-month commitment to the program was complete, however, she realized how beneficial a mentor can be for a young person, and requested a second match. In August 2004, Elizabeth was matched with a very depressed and isolated teenage girl who was struggling with psychosis. The teen’s therapist, Kim Duong, LCSW, East Region, provided counseling services to the girl, but felt that a mentor could offer a different type of support and guidance by engaging her client in a variety of community activities. Due to language and cultural issues, the girl’s parents were hesitant about finalizing the match. To help reduce their concerns, several meetings were scheduled at the teen’s home with the parents present. Through this approach, Elizabeth was able to gain the family’s trust and eventually move forward with the match. Elizabeth offered her mentee friendship and encouragement. In working with the teen, she was enthusiastic and creative, and her involvement helped the girl meet treatment goals and improve interpersonal and communication skills. The teen’s self-confidence is now noticeably higher, and she is looking to the future and considering options after high-school graduation. Elizabeth is an ideal example of how mentors help make a difference for children and teens who are experiencing difficult and challenging situations that require therapeutic treatment. Although she leads a very busy life, working full-time and attending college, she always sets a few hours aside each week to spend time with her mentee. (continued on page 3)
Adopt A Bunny Donors Hopped into the Hearts of ACS ClientsSeveral area businesses, disguised as the Easter Bunny, provided an assortment of filled holiday baskets last March for Aspen Community Services clients. Donors included Brooks America Mortgage, Rumor’s Salon, Selman Chevrolet, Tarsadia Hotels and Aspen Community Services employees. Curl Up with a Good BookLooking for inspirational literature on the mentoring experience? If so, you may wish to pick up a copy of “Guiding Lights: The People Who Lead Us to Our Purpose in Life” by Eric Liu, former speechwriter for President Clinton. Selected by Mentoring.Org as the “Official Book of National Mentoring Month,” Guiding Lights offers stories of hope and inspiration. Booklist, the review journal of the American Library Association, calls it “a riveting analytical description of how great teachers make a difference and how they work their magic.” Another reviewer notes, “Through inspiring examples and luminous prose, Eric Liu reminds us that we have the capacity to be both teachers and students throughout our lives. This book distills the essence of learning and mentorship, and offers the prospect of self-discovery to all who listen to its guiding lights.” For more information, or to order a copy of Guiding Lights, visit www.mentoring.org/whats_new/guiding_lights.php. There’s More Than One Way to Hug a Child...The staff and clients of Children and Youth Services (CYS), CYS-Project Together and Aspen Community Services deeply appreciate the wonderful support provided by many local businesses and organizations. Our affiliation with the Mental Health Association of Orange County allows us to accept and distribute community resources that are an important asset in the therapeutic process for all the children we serve. Joanna Acentares Albertsons Community Partners Arrowhead Pond Aspen Community Services Aspen Community Services Brooks America Mortgage Rumors Salon Selman Chevrolet Tarsadia Hotels Kristen Taylor Welcome New MentorsMary Bechtel
CYS-PT/Aspen Volunteer Mentors Honored(continued from page 1) Margo Jolly has volunteered as a mentor with Aspen Community Services since August 2002 and has dedicated more than 500 volunteer hours to the program. She serves as a positive role model for her mentee, offering the child a nurturing friendship. The fun activities they plan together have helped the child build confidence and self-esteem. Margo is a woman who welcomes challenges in her life and has a strong desire to give back to the community. These characteristics contribute to her success as a mentor. Since meeting her mentee two years ago, Margo has opened a whole new world for this adolescent girl by involving her in community activities that broaden her experiences. A few months ago, Margo’s presence in her mentee’s life was particularly important since the girl’s mother abandoned the family and did not attempt to contact the children she left behind. The supportive, trusting relationship Margo provided helped the child to cope with her mother’s absence. Margo leads a very busy and involved life. She manages her own business as a farrier, shoeing English show horses, and owns a professional balloon decorating company. Her professional success is complimented by the personal satisfaction that she experiences through her mentoring role. Watching her mentee laugh, have fun and just be playful are moments that Margo cherishes. Mentors Barry Sohl and Asha Patel were awarded a Bronze President’s Volunteer Service Award in June at their respective CYS clinics. This award, presented by the President’s Council on Service and Civic Participation, recognizes an individual’s dedication to volunteer service and signifies that they have served their community and country with distinction over the course of a 12-month period. Barry’s story provides another example of the enormous impact one person can have on the life of a child. His dedication, compassion and patience as a mentor with CYS Project Together have changed his mentee’s life in numerous ways, according to the child’s therapist, Mary Herzog, Psychologist I, with the CYS West Region clinic. Nearly three years ago, a shy 9-year-old boy was doing poorly in school and getting in trouble at home. Through Barry’s support and guidance, the youth is now motivated to study for tests, earn good grades, and eagerly reads books for pleasure, a significant improvement from a time when he didn’t even know how to study. The youth has also become enthusiastic to try new activities, like chess and snowboarding, activities that would have frightened him a year ago. Barry has spent hundreds of hours serving as the boy’s friend, tutor and athletic coach. He has also worked to help the boy develop his natural athletic abilities so that he can fully participate in school athletics. As a result, the boy now experiences an increase in both self-confidence and friends. The greatest accolades are expressed in a letter written by the youth’s mother, a single parent and full-time student. She writes, “There are no words to tell how wonderful Barry has been to my son. He has learned so much from Barry… how to be kind, giving, respectful, thankful, and appreciative toward others. When I felt that I did not have any patience, or that my son was just not listening to my instruction, Barry was there. I know in my heart that there are not enough words… to let you know how grateful I am… to have someone so wonderful in our lives as Barry. He has truly been an angel, a life savor, and a best friend to my boy.” Asha Patel has mentored a selectively mute CYS client since December of 2003. Asha patiently provides unconditional support and friendship to this 8-year-old child, and in doing so, has observed subtle, yet significant progress in the child’s relationship with the spoken word.
According to the child’s therapist, Pam Berg, Clinical Psychologist
II, CYS East Region, “Asha has been a wonderful mentor and I cannot
praise her work highly enough. She is mature and incredibly
committed to this child. She has been quite resourceful in coming up
with strategies to address the mutism and has succeeded in getting
the child to “read” aloud by mouthing words. She is now working on
creating a comfort level with a tape recorder in the room in the
hope that the child will eventually speak in front of it.” Elizabeth, Margo, Barry and Asha are ideal examples of the dedication and commitment required to be a CYS-Project Together/Aspen Community Services volunteer mentor.
They are also outstanding examples of the 19,000 County of Orange
volunteers who have donated 984,423 hours of service valued at more
than $22 million in avoided costs for County government in 2004.
This partnership with County of Orange agencies and departments
demonstrates the importance of citizen participation in building
strong, healthy communities.
Page 4/5 Mentors Thanked For Dedication/ Commitment With Fun Day at Knott's Berry FarmDespite the threat of rain, nearly 60 CYS-Project together and Aspen Community Services’ mentors and their matches enjoyed a fun-filled day at Knott’s Berry Farm on April 23, 2005. The event sponsored by CYS-PT staff, in association with the Mental health Association of Orange County, was held to thank and recognize mentors for their dedication and support to the program throughout 2004-2005. In addition to a delicious all-you-can-eat Mrs. Knott’s chicken buffet and a few rousing games of bingo, mentors and mentees had an opportunity to explore the park. those who decided against the white-knuckled fun of silver bullet, ghostrider and Montezooma’s Revenge, found respite walking through the various themed areas and enjoying the parks many picturesque and unique offerings.
How to Contact Children and Youth Services—Project TogetherGeneral Information: (714) 796-0100 Central Staff Mission StatementCYS-Project Together is a volunteer mentor program dedicated to enhancing the mental and emotional well being of Children and Youth Services clients. A Children and Youth Services Newsletter for Spring 2005 Published by:
County of Orange Health Care Agency/ 405 W. 5th St., Suite 436 County of Orange Health Care Agency Graphic Design and Layout produced by the HCA Desktop Publishing Unit - a part of HCA QM Public Information & Communications.
|
