BUCYRUS — For those searching for a way to help the young people of the community, mentoring is a great way to connect with area youth.
Dwayne Castle, founder of Relationally Driven in Bucyrus, is the coordinator for the county’s youth mentoring program and recently spoke to the Crestline Village Council members about the need for volunteers to mentor students at all six schools in Crawford County.
“We need people to volunteer 30 minutes per week to spend time one-on-one with individual students during the school day,” Castle said.
Castle recruits and trains mentors for all the county’s schools and said today’s youth are facing many challenges that older people did not.
“Research shows that one-on-one mentoring dramatically decreases the risks of harmful behavior such as alcohol and drug use and teen pregnancy. Mentoring increases the chance for success, both academically and socially,” Castle said.
He said the perfect candidates for this volunteer role are imperfect people.
“We are looking for people who have experienced hardships in life and overcame, been knocked down but keep getting back up. People who have made mistakes and learned from them,” Castle said. “We need people who can help young people navigate their own lives and point them in the right direction by sharing their hard-earned wisdom with them.”
He said in addition to individuals, the program needs churches, businesses, civic organizations and public employees to get involved.
“Mentoring needs an all hands-on-deck approach,” said Castle. For more information and to sign up, visit the mentor program’s website or the mentor program’s Facebook page.