Did you know that January is National Mentoring Month? At Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta, we have nearly 700 registered active volunteers who support our youth. Not only do regular volunteers serve as mentors to our kids and teens, but so do our staff. Our staff is constantly making positive, daily impacts on our Club members.
A. Worley Brown Boys & Girls Club’s (AWB) Tashia Simpson is one example of the mentorship that our Club staff exemplifies. Simpson pours into her Club each day. As the AWB cheer team coach, she has taken the team to the next level and serves as a substitute bus driver whenever AWB is in need.
Executive Director Lawrence Mimms describes Simpson as “completely loyal to the movement and a total team player.”
When asked what mentoring means to her, Simpson said it is “being there for a kid, younger person when they need help or advice by guiding them through the situation but also letting them make their own decision.”
Jaden Faunce, a strategy analyst with Accenture, is just one example of the professionals that volunteer their time mentoring Club members. Faunce served as a mentor this year for the 2022 Youth of the Year program to Jesse Draper Boys & Girls Club’s 2022 Club Youth of the Year Tre’Vion H.
When asked what being a mentor means to him, Jaden said, “Being a mentor to Tre was beyond fulfilling. I was able to watch him grow professionally over the course of a few months, and I got to learn a lot about him, his passions, and how he wants to impact the world around him. I’m so happy I was able to foster his ideas and guide him through the Youth of the Year process.”