On Sept. 29, program mentors Reenie Dailey and Sue Ryan facilitated an educational workshop at the Chittenango Library using skills they learned at a “Train the Trainer” workshop on youth development this spring. The workshop helped to show the kids that appearance is not an indicator of who a person is and to challenge youth to embrace diversity. The night included many effective and inspiring crafts that asked each youth to challenge their assumptions on a number of topics.
Ending the night was a moving activity in which mentees shared positive things about themselves and mentors shared positive things they feel about their mentees.
“It was so powerful to see the expressions on the faces of our youth as they proclaimed their strengths and the pride they felt when their mentors spoke about them,” says CAP Mentoring Program Coordinator JoAnne Morak.
On Oct. 7, CAP headed to Colgate University to visit their friends at the Ho Tung Visualization Lab. Host and mentor Joe Eakin partnered with Colgate students to host a Space Camp for the youth that was not only educational, but was also an entertaining experience.
“The youth not only had the experience of state-of-the-art Visualization Lab, but also a hands-on classroom demonstration about the planets, atmosphere and all that is ‘out there,’” continues Morak.
The kids were also shown how to make gases, ice and many other interesting things. The group got a special treat at the end of the night when they were able to tour the Rock and Gem Museum, a new exhibit at Colgate.
“The priceless opportunity for our youth was to experience the college atmosphere,” states Morak.
If you would like to become a mentor to a Madison County youth, call JoAnne Morak at 697-3588.
Community Action Partnership’s Mentoring Program reaches out to approximately 40 Madison County youth each year, bringing activities like these to inspire and educate the youth in the area. CAP is funded in part by the Madison County Youth Bureau, United Way of Greater Oneida, Madison County Promise, Madison County Department of Social Services and the Women’s Fund of Central New York, all playing their part in creating positive social interactions and developmental programs for the youth.
