Mentor Iowa Receives Grant From Variety

Tuesday, June 13, 2023

Mentor Iowa provides trained volunteer mentors to abused, neglected, and delinquent children who are under the jurisdiction of the Juvenile Court by working in partnership with the children, their families, and the community. Although there may be many professionals appointed to work with these children, Mentor Iowa is the only program in Iowa that provides trained volunteers to meet the needs of these children by working with the child as a mentor and friend.

Mentor Iowa’s focus on the children referred to their program is the driving force in finding opportunities that build in them self-esteem, socialization skills, and the knowledge that there are other children in similar circumstances. Through group events, special programs, mentor and mentee assistance programs, Mentor Iowa provides opportunities for trained volunteers to help the children in their program. In 2022, Variety provided grant funding to support these activities so Mentors and Mentees like Carol and Angelica can interact at these outings!

Carol and her mentee, Angelica, have been matched together since 2017. During their seven-year relationship, they have made a lot of positive memories together and look forward to next year when Angelica will be graduating from Valley High School with hopes of going to college after.

Carol first met Angelica when she was a 10-year old little girl who had taken on many adult roles. Taking on such roles at such a young age can sometimes lead to a youth growing up way too fast. Carol was the perfect outlet for Angelica to be a kid, have fun and create positive memories to last a lifetime. One of the wonderful traditions that Carol and Angelica have is taking a picture at Blank Park Zoo in one of their egg statues. This tradition has resulted in a total of seven pictures of Angelica & Carol and soon another picture will be added to the collection this summer.

Carol has also benefitted from being a mentor for Angelica during the past seven years. Some of Carol’s favorite memories include: riding camels at the zoo, shooting pumpkin cannons at Howell’s Pumpkin Patch, horseback riding, and many other fun activities. With the positive memories, there are the challenges that come along with being a mentor. Carol is always there for Angelica when she needs her the most and will provide the best advice she can to provide whatever assistance is needed. For seven years, Carol & Angelica have been there for each other and look forward to a lifelong friendship with each other.

It is always an exciting time when a match has lasted as long as Carol and Angelica’s has. As Angelica will soon be looking at schools once she graduates from Valley, we know that Carol will be there to provide guidance whenever asked. This picture shows Carol and Angelica at Howell’s Pumpkin Patch.

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