A Little Bit About Us...The Y.E.S.! Program is managed by a community advisory board made up of business members, service organization members and school employees from the Red Oak community. The advisory board formed in the spring of 2007 with a simple idea in mind: create a community based mentoring program that will stand the test of time and help our youth grow up to be productive, contributing and positive community members
We started with the knowledge that many children in our community could benefit from the support and guidance of an additional adult in their lives. Our advisory board is working to raise the funds to hire a part-time coordinator to recruit and train mentors and then match those youth with mentees in our community. You can support our program by becoming a mentor or with a tax deductible financial contribution.
By the end of September, our advisory board will have hired a part-time coordinator for the Y.E.S. program. The primary function of the coordinator will be to recruit mentors, train them and then match the mentors with youth in our community who would benefit from having another caring adult in their lives.
Our Goals...All children have the potential to succeed in life and contribute to society. However, not all children get the support they need to thrive. Many need more caring adults in their lives to offer guidance and friendship.
The word "mentor" comes from the Greek for "steadfast" and "enduring." Mentoring is the one-to-one or group relationship that one or more adults develop with one or more young people to help them develop and succeed.
The goals for the Y.E.S. Mentoring Program are to:
- Help students improve self-esteem
- Help students acquire knowledge, skills, and abilities
- Help students gain social skills
- Help students strengthen character
- Encourage students to attain higher performance and better school attendance
- Encourage students to remain in school & graduate
- Promote a safe, comfortable, and healthy learning environment
We know we cannot accomplish our goals alone. A community mentoring program needs the support and assistance of the entire community! We believe we can succeed with your help! Join us today in making the future of Red Oak a shade better!
Who We Are...As mentioned, our Advisory Board is made up of local community members, business owners, employees and service organization members. Please feel free to contact any of our Advisory Board Members to ask questions or discuss how you can help say Y.E.S. to our community!
Doug Barry, ROCSD Principal
Larry Brandstetter, Volunteer
Michelle Caswell, Coordinator
Cheri McFarland, Assistant Coor.
Rev. Elizabeth Dilley, Minister
Dr. Meagan Govig, Dentist
Ellen Griffen, Parent
Linda Guerra, ROCSD Translator
Jenny Horner, Latino Center
Dr. Chris Johnson, Women’s Health Center
Sonia Kunze, ROCSD Teacher
Brian Mensen, Attorney
Rev. Caryn Pedersen, Minister
Mary Jo Piller, Community Member
Chief Drue Powers, City Police
Barb Ray, Kiwanis
Tim Schmid, Community Member
Mona Swenson, Retired Teacher
Sheriff Tony Updegrove, County
Dr. Janet Wade, Optometrist
Kevin Walford, Fire Department
Please continue to check back to this site for more information about our program.
Fequently Asked Questions (...if you have additional questions, email them to
yesmentoring@care2.com)
Q. What does Y.E.S. stand for?
A. Youth Experiencing Success. We hope that our mentoring program not only provides the youth in our community success, but also the adults who mentor and the businesses who sponsor our program. Today’s youth in our community are tomorrow’s adults in our community!
Q. When do you plan on beginning the program?
A. We have recently added a part-time coordinator, Michele Caswell. Michele is organizing the mentor packets and we are open for taking referrals and applications for any adult interested in being a mentor. Contact us today! Call 623-6630; write to 904 Broad Street, Red Oak, IA 51566; or email
yesmentoring@care2.com.
Q. Is this a school based program?
A. Our Advisory Board created the program as a community based program. We are a nonprofit organization that operates independently of the school board and school district. The school district(s) will be a key partner in this program, but the coordinator will be supervised by the Advisory Board and not the school district. Members on our Advisory Board are from service organizations, businesses, churches, and the school district. Also, mentors will be able to work with mentees during school and outside of school hours.
Q. What age students is Y.E.S. targeting?
A. Our initial plan is to identify any youth who would benefit from having a mentor. Students in grades kindergarten through 8th grade will likely be targeted first with the plans of working with all age students as the program ‘ages’. If a match can be made, we will not turn away any age child or teenager.
Q. How can I become a mentor?
A. Fill our a pink contact sheet or email
yesmentoring@care2.com. After our coordinator is hired, he/she will contact you about becoming a mentor.
Q. How much time does it take to be a mentor?
A. After a short training session, the Y.E.S. program will ask mentors to commit to an average of an hour a week to their mentee, We will also ask for a minimum of a one-year commitment to their mentee to provide stability to the child.
Q. I cannot be a mentor but want to help out. What can I do?
A. Since our program is a nonprofit organization, you may support the program with an annual/monthly tax deductible donation! We are looking for long-term business sponsors too. You may also volunteer to be on our Advisory Board. Contact Doug Barry or Barb Ray for more information.
Q. Would my own child benefit from having a mentor?
A. If your child would benefit from having another caring adult in their lives, then YES!! Please contact any school principal or counselor. Our coordinator will be based out of Washington Intermediate so you may call 623-6630 and ask for the Y.E.S. Mentoring Program coordinator or email
yesmentoring@care2.comArticle from Red Oak Express, October 2006
Does It Take a Village to Raise a Child?“It takes a village to raise a child” is an African proverb made famous by Hillary Clinton during a speech in 1996. Her speech focused on the belief our nation had changed dramatically and we now live in a time when our youth are exposed to more of the world at a younger age and with less supervision and more responsibilities. At Washington Intermediate, our staff works with 9, 10, and 11 year olds who struggle with some concerns, issues and worries that I did not have to face until I was in high school or college. At the same time, the parents of this nation and community are faced with the realities of having to work longer hours, work two jobs or make other time sacrifices to provide their children with those level one needs: shelter, food and clothing. The sacrifices they make to provide the necessities decrease the amount of time they are able to spend with their children. Important time spent doing homework together, talking about how the day went or discussing what is going on in their lives, may not take place on a regular basis or at all.
Throw on top of that the fact our youth have fewer opportunities to form strong relationships with respectful and caring adults outside their family units. Even in a community our size, neighbors tend to stay to themselves a bit more than they used to do and if an adult takes an interest in helping a youth, it may be seen as a warning sign for inappropriate intentions. Instead of learning skills, responsibilities, and constructive conversation from adults around them, many children have turned to “role models” they see and hear on television, movies and in music. Watch any prime-time television show and the values are placed on power, money, sex and the “humor” of disrespectful comments toward others.
I have heard too often in my short educational career, “What is wrong with kids these days?” What I believe is wrong is we have lost the sense of community responsibility. It is easy for us to point fingers; to blame others; to lay responsibility on television or ‘broken homes.’ It is easy for myself, others in education, business owners and community members to blame it on “lack of parenting skills” or lack of adult supervision. What is hard to do is ask yourself, “How can I become part of the solution?” and “What is my role in fixing the problem?” The fact is kids who struggle and could use some extra guidance come in all sizes and shapes. From the single parent households to the affluent, children all need mentors at some point in their lives.
Statistics indicate most children who have been mentored improve their school attendance and performance, go to college, and are less likely to use drugs or alcohol. A positive role model can demonstrate the blessings of living a virtuous life by sharing his or her values and experiences and motivating a child to learn and achieve. We must teach our children the difference between right and wrong and we must seize every opportunity to help a young person find the right path. We must also teach discipline and accountability.
You can be a part of the solution. We are in the midst of forming a community advisory group to look at how a COMMUNITY mentoring program could benefit our youth. The advisory group is made up of concerned and caring adults from local service organizations, businesses, community members, churches and the school. On November 2nd, we will have our first meeting to listen to Kim Leininger from Shenandoah’s Mentoring Affects YOUth program, and to discuss how we get a similar program started in our community. Kim has been with the M.A.Y. program for over seven years and has already shared with us some great success stories about how a caring community can collectively take care of the children in their community. Our vision is to have a program in place by the summer of 2007 so we can begin recruiting mentors for the many youth eager to have another positive adult in their lives.
Every single child in our community could use another adult in his or her life who cares about them. Many of our youth are fortunate to have a “natural mentor” through a coach, a teacher, a neighbor or an employer, but some are not as fortunate. Some of our youth desperately need to have an adult there to encourage them, to coach them and to help them realize right from wrong. The struggling youth in our community today become the struggling adults in our community tomorrow. I am asking you to consider being part of the solution for our community. When our committee puts together a mentoring program and begins to seek positive role models for our youth, make a commitment to our youth. Make a commitment to our community’s future. It does take a village to raise a child.
All questions, concerns, feedback or ideas are welcome. Contact Doug Barry at 623-6630 or
barryd@roschools.com
