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PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — January is National Mentoring Month and a special event was held Sunday for mentors and mentees at Hunt Armory, spending the day together on the ice rink.
It was the first time for many on the ice on Sunday and, despite being a little wobbly, the mentors helped the trainees get to their feet with confidence.
“It’s different,” Sayuri Hockett said. “It’s scary, but it’s fun.”
“We were having trouble keeping our balance, but we did it,” Maria Olson said. “We found the wall. We figured out how to stop, holding hands.”
Mentoring Partnership of Southwestern Pennsylvania serves more than 20,000 youth each year, providing mentoring support in Pittsburgh and beyond.
“We really just try to make sure that all young people feel known, recognized and cared for,” said associate executive director Kristan Allan.
Maria Olson is a volunteer with the Big Brothers Big Sisters program and hit the track with Sayuri Hockett after being paired over a year ago.
“It’s really important for a mentee and a mentor to spend this time together,” Olson said.
“People always ask, what do the big and the small do together?” asked Maggie Giel, director of outreach and recruitment for Big Brothers Big Sisters. “Today’s event is a great example. “It’s great to see the little ones light up going around the track. “They fall down, they get up and that’s what mentoring is all about.”
The Mentoring Partnership says it is always looking for more volunteers and says there are over 150 different mentoring programs you can be a part of.
“We’re hoping to drive community involvement, find ways for caring adults to be there and support the youth and help them be prepared and help the youth use their voice and get mentors to help them achieve their dreams,” said Colleen Fedor, executive director of the Mentoring Partnership.
For more information about the organization, Click here.
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