.png)
NEWSLETTERS
OCTOBER MATCH OF THE MONTH
Holly and Allison have been matched since the program started in November 2019. Over the past school year, they have really gotten to know each other and build trust in their match relationship. Mentee, Holly did not have a lot of trusted adults before starting this program and now considers her mentor, Allison as a trusted adult in her life and someone she can turn too when needed. Allison is always there to listen about academic concerns, friend drama, or personal life concerns and is great at providing Holly with advice or just a listening ear. Holly said one thing she appreciated about Allison was, “One thing she help me with is she helped me with everything. And I want to thank her for being such a great person to me and can’t wait to see her next year.” This truly shows how much you can impact a child in such a short amount of time.
Over the last year, Holly has had one major big win with Allison’s support. Allison has help Holly determine what she wants to do post-secondary. Holly shared that she has never been confident in herself and after talking to Allison about what her plans are for what field to study in college, she really helped Holly build confidence in persuading that field. Holly quoted, “We were just talking about what I wanted to do and she inspired me to want to do it and had like confidence in me because originally I didn’t want to do it, but she convince me that it would be like a good thing to do.” Now Holly is confident that working with individuals with special needs is that she wants to do with her future. Holly also shared that her mom has been a huge support as well and she is so happy that her mentor and mom are rooting her on!
SEPTEMBER MATCH OF THE MONTH
Kathy and Grace were matched back in early 2012, when Grace was in 2nd grade. They started their friendship in the Lunch Mentoring Program at Springroad Elementary. In 2018 they decided to move over to the Community Based program as Grace started getting busier with schoolwork, activities and friends.
Kathy and Grace enjoy shopping for books, going out for supper, having long talks at Dairy Queen, painting table toppers for past bike tours, playing board and card games and so much more!
Grace’s mother says, “ I just feel very, very, lucky that Grace has Kathy in her life. Kathy is a positive adult role mode for Grace, modeling kindness, good sportsmanship, and exposing her to fun activities she would normally have had access to.”
This Fall Grace will be in 11th grade, and both Kathy and Grace look forward to their continued friendship!
AUGUST MATCH OF THE MONTH
Big Sister Steph and Little Sister Evelyn have been matched for just over 2 years now! They love spending time in nature, baking, and art. According to Evelyn, the best recipe they’ve tried is one for red velvet cupcakes! One thing Evelyn has learned from Steph is, “No matter what you do, never give up!” Steph said, “My favorite part about Evelyn is her caring nature and her love of art and creating. She’s an awesome big sister to her little brother and she’s a caring kitty-mama. Her love of art has shown through since we were first matched and is one of the many reasons we’re matched so well!”
JULY MATCH OF THE MONTH
Meet our Match of the Month, Big Sister Jenni and Little Sister Irelyn!
This match has been matched for almost 2-years. Both have very bubbly, fun personalities and both are very busy individuals. Irelyn is involved in competitive dance and Jenni is very dedicated to her work at Kimberly-Clarke.
Oddly enough, at a time when we were all asked to stay apart to prioritize healthy, this match really came together. Shar, Irelyn’s mom, raved about how much Jenni stepped up and reached out to make sure Irelyn was having fun and feeling supported during quarantine. On the last Match Support Call, Irelyn’s voice perked up when talking about how she and Jenni have been writing letters to each other and playing hangman. Jenni thought it might be fun to try out pen pals as she had such positive memories of it from when she was little. Irelyn was most excited for the book Jenni sent her because it was on her list of books to read and she didn’t even tell Jenni that!
When speaking with Jenni, her primary focus during quarantine has been to make sure Irelyn is staying busy and having fun. Jenni understands that Irelyn is social and it’s hard to be at home and away from friends. Shar described Jenni as “amazing” and Irelyn gives that match an A+ for staying connected! So far Jenni has sent three packages with different activities like a bath bomb kit.
MAY MATCH OF THE MONTH
Meet our Match of the Month, Little Brother Ethan and Big Brother Sam! Ethan and Sam have been matched since November of 2018.
The match originally started off in the Workplace Mentoring Program at Kimberly-Clark . Ethan’s mother enrolled him into this program because she felt that Ethan could benefit from having an additional role model to spend time with outside of the home and to expose him to new things.
During their time at Workplace Mentoring, they enjoyed throwing the ball around outside, playing board games, doing science experiments, crafts and sorting through baseball and basketball cards. Over time, their friendship grew and they decided that they wanted to do things over the summer, so they decided to transition to the Community-Based Program.
Transitioning to Community-Based has been a very positive experience for both Ethan and Sam. Together they have been able to go to Packer games, Timber Rattler games, the YMCA and much more. Due to COVID-19, Ethan and Sam have decided that it is best to keep their distance from one another, however, they have continued their friendship and have gotten creative on how they connect! Ethan and Sam have been communicating weekly either through phone calls or video chat and have created their own NBA “draft” where they each select a card and talk about the players.
