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SmartWorks | page 6
“I
was a victim
of self-induced
procrastination.
Mentoring was something I
wanted to do but felt that I was
just too busy.”
Sound familiar? This is the
confession of local attorney Dick
Tisinger, now an active mentor for
a 17-year old student at KidsPeace
in Bowdon.
Tisinger served on the
Carroll County Chamber/Carroll
TomorrowWorkforce Education
Task Force where the concept of
a coordinated mentoring effort
was incubated. “I knew there
were others like me — interested,
but not knowing how to get
connected. I knew of several
different programs but where did
I go to sign up?”
And so, Mentoring Village was
born. This umbrella organization
provides volunteer management
(recruiting, screening, and
training) to partnering mentoring
organizations throughout Carroll
County. Cathy Robinson serves as
program coordinator.
“I contacted Cathy and then
it got easy,” Tisinger said. “I
went through training and had
an extensive background check.
Their questionnaire serves as an
interest matching instrument —
it assists Cathy in matching my
interests with mentees from the
stand alone mentoring programs.”
Prior to pairing the mentor
with a partnering organization,
a general three hour training
session is conducted. A second
training session is then required
by the specific mentoring group
once the mentor’s interests are
matched.
“I was matched (via
Mentoring Village) with the
Carroll County Mentoring
Program because they had
a student at KidsPeace who
would benefit from a mentoring
relationship,” Tisinger said.
“I have been involved with
KidsPeace at both the local and
national level, so it was a perfect
match.”
Tisinger brings his community
relationships to the table to assist
his student mentee. With his
encouragement, she is close to
earning her high school diploma
and has an interest in biology.
Tisinger arranged for a West
Georgia Technical College
representative to visit with her to
share career pathways relating to
biology.
Working with children or the
elderly is a second interest of
the student and Tisinger asked
the director of Carroll Manor to
give her “the good, bad and ugly
of working in a nursing home
environment.”
“I regret that I did not start
mentoring earlier,” Tisinger
admits. “For those of you sitting
on the sideline, thinking about
it — go do it! It is a win-win-win for
the student, mentor and society.”
Tisinger noted that the training
helped him know how to keep a
balance in maintaining the right
caring relationship. He visits his
mentee every week for about 30
minutes and intends to keep up
with her after she returns to her
home county following foster
care.
“But then I plan on getting
a new student to mentor,” he
said. “You might strike out with
a particular student — nobody
bats 1,000 — but again, that’s
where Cathy comes in. She can
re-evaluate and pair you with a
different student.”
“For the leadership of our
county’s businesses who want
their team to give back to the
community in a hands-on way, I
encourage them to invite Cathy
to come speak to their staff,”
Tisinger said. “Now that the
Mentoring Village infrastructure
is in place, there is a smooth
transition from wanting to be a
mentor to being one.”
DickTisinger has spent 40 years at the lawfirm, TisingerVance PC.
J
ust go for
it
!
• Mentored young
people see a 59%
improvement in
their grades.
(Source: Career
Beginnings)
• 86% of mentored
young people
went on to higher
education.
(Source: Proctor &
Gamble)
• 80% of youth
involved in the
juvenile detention
systemwho
received a mentor
did not return to
that system.
(Source: Prison
Fellowship)
• 52% of mentored
students are less
likely to skip a day
of school and 37%
less likely to skip a
single class.
(Source: Big
Brothers Big Sisters
Public/Private
Ventures study)
Mentoring
Village Partners
• 12 For Life
• Carroll County
Mentoring
Program
• Carrollton City
and Carroll County
Communities in
Schools
• Carrollton
Housing Authority
Youth Services
Program
• Legacy Council
Mentoring
Program
• Carrollton Junior
High School
MENTORING:
WHY
BECOME
A
MENTOR