This month’s Mercer Savings Bank Giving Mission recipient is M.A.V. Youth Mentoring. The organization operated as Big Brothers Big Sisters for 30 years but disaffiliated and became M.A.V. Youth Mentoring in 2019.
The youth mentoring program, led by Executive Director Angie Nixon, serves children in Mercer, Auglaize, and Van Wert counties through monitored matches with adult mentors. Their mission is to provide all children with positive relationships that have a long-lasting impact on their lives.
Making a Difference Through Positive Relationships
The M.A.V. Youth Mentoring programs are focused around supporting children with key areas in their lives, including the following:
- Improving relationships
- Gaining higher confidence and self-values
- Avoiding unsafe behaviors
- Achieving educational success
- Feeling they have a positive influence on their lives
- Getting along better with their families and friends
“The main goal is just to provide them with another source of friendship, another outlet on their bad days and their great days,” said Nixon. “Within our programs, we serve around 300 to 350 matches a year. And sometimes these kids are just so sad and lonely, but when they’re matched with a mentor, they can find joy and happiness — and can laugh again.”
Serving Youth in Community and Site-Based Programs
M.A.V. Youth Mentoring provides opportunities for children through community and site-based programming. The community-based program is a one-on-one mentorship where an adult volunteer mentor is matched with a youth. They meet two to four hours each month and can participate in a variety of activities together.
“Every match is different, and you just have to find the positives in those matches,” added Nixon. “If the child enjoys going to the library and reading a book, then you do that. If another youth wants to go on go-kart races, then you do that. So everybody’s a little bit different and it’s always fun to hear their stories.”
Other examples of one-on-one activities can be playing a board game, sharing a meal, taking a walk in the park, going to the movies, or shooting hoops.
Site-based mentoring programs are primarily hosted at schools, but the focus isn’t on tutoring — instead, the purpose is to be a friend to a local youth. This one-on-one programming occurs on a consistent basis and falls into one of three categories:
- After School Buddies – held as a weekly program involving games, snacks, socialization, and homework assistance
- Lunch Club – scheduled during lunch/recess where matches eat lunch together, enjoy one-on-one time, and participate in educational enrichment activities
- Supper Club – organized twice a month at a group home where mentors dine together with the children and take part in fun activities
Organizing Annual Fundraisers in the Community
M.A.V. Youth Mentoring holds three major fundraisers each year to support its growing programming needs. The fundraisers include the following special events:
- Designer Purse Bingo – February
- Golf for Youth Mentoring – July
- Dancing with the Big Stars – November
“Dancing with the Big Stars is our biggest fundraiser, so we get professional dancers to help coach community members,” said Nixon. “It’s so much fun, and we have three judges — we even have our own judge ‘Bruno,’ who’s hysterical.”
Supporting the M.A.V. Youth Mentoring Program
Youth are waiting in all three counties to be paired with a volunteer adult mentor, and there’s a significant need for adult males.
“There’s always a struggle to find mentors that are willing to dedicate a certain amount of hours to spend with a child,” said Nixon. “We have a lot of youth males on our waiting list because we have a higher number of adult female mentors. So finding adult male mentors is a little bit more of a struggle.”
There are a few different ways people can help support the mentoring program.
“You can become a mentor in our lunch club program or a community-based program,” said Nixon. “If that’s not something you’d like to do, we’re always looking for some new board members. Board members attend monthly meetings and help out at our events.”
The organization also accepts donations to continuously run the program and add new site-based locations in order to reach more youth in the three counties.
More Information About M.A.V. Youth Mentoring
To learn more about the M.A.V. Youth Mentoring program and how you can support the organization, please see the contact details below:
Website: https://mavyouthmentoring.com/
Phone: 419-584-2447
Email: info@MAVYouthMentoring.com
Social Media: https://www.facebook.com/MAVYouthMentoring