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The Summeruille News
Read-a-Thon Held At
Chattooga Co. Library
Twenty-Two Volunteers Read Selections From
Favorite Books For Library Week Celebration
Around 75 people attended a Read-A-Thon Satur
day at the Chattooga County Library.
Twenty-two people volunteered to read favorite
books or passages of books during the day which was
part of the local library’s observance of National
Library Week.
Those reading were, Maxine West, Vera Williams,
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Making B Difference . . .
Mentor Hope: .. chi 5t o Time .. .
By D.J. LAAN
Staff Writer
MENTOR: A wise, loial ad
visor; a teacher or coach.
Chattooga County has its
share of wise, loyal advisors
who affect the lives of many
local students in our communi
ty. These mentors may be
educators and teachers but as
often are local citizens who
have been chosen to volunteer
a few hours of their lives week
ly to make a difference in the
life of a Chattooga youth.
Their titles include
minister, secretary, CEO of a
company, par:srofessional.
housewife, retired citizens and
more.
Julia Simmons, Summer
ville Presbyterian minister,
and Gene Espg. The Summer
ville News Editor, are co
directors of Chattooga County
Mentoring Program.
Accorging to Simmons, she
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Mentor Hope Volomnwteers Meet
Shown are some of the members of the
Ment.orH%%e.committee that met recent
ly at the Chattooga County Chamber of
gommerce building in Summerville. They
MARY CATHERINE FARRAR READS FROM FAVORITE BOOK
Youngster Volunteers At Read-A-Thon Saturday
decided to become a part of the
program after hearing stories
of how local citizens were in
teracting with students to help
them both academically and
socially. ‘I came into the pro
gram after it was already
started and I have been utter
ly amazed and overwhelmed
with the stories I have heard
about it,”” Rev. Simmons
stated.
Sue Spivey, Chattooga
County Chamber of Commerce
Director said that the current
mentorinfi program was an
outgrowth of the education
committee in the county. ‘“We
were given a mentoring grant
which targeted students in
grades lower than the ninth
grade. At the time, it was an
off-camgus mentoring pro
gram. The more we became in
volved in the progam, we
began to see that we needed to
reach students early on in the
lower grades,” Spivey stated.
are from left, Shirley Walker, Sue Spivey,
Cathie Denson, Betty Mason and Virginia
Bullard. (Staff Photo By D. J. Laan).
Barbara McCutchins, Eme Crawford, Mary Catherine
Farrar, Kristy Waters, Betty Bush, Randy Gayler, Sue
Spivey, Barbara Hutsell, Sarah Jones, Lisa Watson,
Anna Payton, Clint Brown, Emily Smith, Courtney
Hosmer, Alexandra Lanier, Marty Brown, Joyce
Brown, Marketia McMichael, Sasha McMichael and
Jennifer Adkins.
VOLUNTEERS
The local program, Men
tor Hope, involves counti;
volunteers who work wit
students on-site in area
schools. The focus has evolved
to include academic needs as
well as volunteers acting as
listening boards to the
students.
John Hayes, Chattooga
County Social Worker and
educator has worked with
students in several schools in
the mentoring process. “‘I have
a student in a elementary
school setting who lj;ust had a
birthday. I bought him a
Georgia Bulldog cagl." Hayes
said. Accordinit,o ayes, in
volvement with lower grade
students encompasses time
spent on campus while quer
level mentoring may involve
off-campus field trips, etc.
**A number of the mentors
feel more comfortable in the
Thursday, April 30, 1998
structured environment of the
school instead of off-campus
activities and we leave that up
to the individual mentor,” Sim
mons stated.
Betty Mason, Lyerly, has
been working with Men
tor Hope for three years. She
recalls the interview process
with members of the mentoring
group which is a requirement
to join the local group. ‘‘After
my initial approval to be a
mentor, I was assigned a stu
dent through Cathie Denson, a
Chattooga County school con
selor. I wanted to make a dif
ference in a child’s life,”
Mason, a Geogia Power
employee, explained. “My com
pany endorsed mentoring pro
grams and encouraged
em;glolyees to participate,”’ she
stated.
Mrs. Mason currently has a
female student mentee in a
zpecial education class. ‘‘She
oesn't en%'oy reading as much
as some of the other children.
So, we began a sewing project
which we both enjoyed im
mensely. This year, I took her
a Christmas gift. I talk to her
on the telephone, and I have in
vited her to come to my com
pan¥ and see more about the
job I have,” Mason explained.
She said that a relationshiglof
friendship, respect and love has
grown between herself and her
young thirteen year old friend.
Before the mentoring pro
cess beian, Mason met with
the mother of the young girl.
““The process had to be approv
ed by the parents or parent of
the student involved in the
ment.orix:ig I§>x'ogram," Mason
explained. During 1998, Betty
Mason’s employment respon
sibilities have increased and
she had not been able to spend
as much time with her mentor
ing student.
“] called her mother to let
her know that I could not be at
school as often as I had in the
past. My student’s mother
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: Staff Photo By Gene Espy
BARBARA McCUTCHINS READS TO YOUNGSTERS AT READ-A-THON SATURDAY AT CHATTOOGA LIBRARY
Children, Adults Listen Intently To Her Favorite Children’s Books and See Illustrations
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EME CRAWFORD READS EXCERPT FROM “TO KILL A MOCKINBIRD” BY HARPER LEE SATURDAY
Twenty-Two Chattoogans Volunteer To Share Favorite Books, Parts of Books
made me (Promise to go as often
as I could to continue the men
toring process with her
daughter. She told me that she
could see a distinct difference
in her daughter since the men
toring had%)egan," Mrs. Mason
said.
GUIDELINES
In the beginning of the pro
gram there were guidelines
eveloped to helg the prosgec
tive mentor develop lines of in
terest that could be shared
with the students. ‘“We went to
the counselors and the school
system, and the counselors got
recommendations from the
school's faculty as to which
children might benefit from
mentoring,”’ Cathie Denson
said.
Accordi::f to Denson, some
of the students come from
single-garent homes, have had
a death in the family, or some
other kind of psychoK)gical loss
or maybe need added academic
help.
Cathie Denson, Summer
ville, joined the mentoring
group approximately four
years ago after a friend, Sue
Spive)f'. encouraged her to be a
part of a new mentoring "
“I work as a counse%lo(:u&
the Chattooga County Schools
and I'm mostly involved in
matching up the students with
prospective mentors,” Denson
explained. “I try to helgmthe
new mentor to adjust to his or
her new challenge by giving
them encouragement an
assisting them in any way I
can to make the mentoring
relationship a success,” she
added. P
Virginia Bullard, Summer
ville, has been a mentor for
about one year. ‘‘My little stu
dent and Iy have been meeting
together for about one month.
She always gives me a hug
when she sees me and our rela
tionship has been wonderful, so
Features/News
far,” she said.
Bullard said that her men
toring student has had some
difficulty with reading so some
of the hour-long sessions are
devoted to the student reading
to her. “I look forward to see
ing her beautiful brown eyes
and sweet smile when I come to
the school for our sessions. My
student is a wonderful young
lady and she is doing very
well,” Bullard added.
READING
7 Shix:lethalker.dTrion. is
ginning her second year as a
mentor. g‘l had taught first
grade at Trion and I was retir
ing. I heard about the program
and for me, of course, it seem
ed like a natural. I was assign
ed a student at Pennville and
I b:fian mg' mentoring career,”
Walker stated. “My student
had experienced some pro
blems with reading antP of
course, I had all kinds of
reading materials so I would
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More Mentor Hope Mentors Bt Meet
Shown are more of the mentors that were
at a recent Mentor Hope meetiné. Thgy
are from left, John Hayes, Carolyn
bring my reading projects and
work wgt':h this student,” she
explained.
Walker said that her rela
tionship with this student in
cluded much more than just
tutoring her in reading. “We
did a lot of talking and she en
joys making things. So, we did
crafts projects, etc. At the
beginning of this year her fami
lg moved out of Chattooga
ounty,” she said.
Thereafter, Ms. Walker
began working with two
students from Trion although
the Trion School I%f'st;em does
not participate in Mentor Hope.
#1 coufld fi::t call these students
art of this mentoring program
?n reality sincem:'ier%:ion
sKstem does not Ipa.rticipate."
she explained. “‘I don’t know
the reason why Trion is not in
the pro%am,’ she said.
Ms. Walker explained tkat
after being a teacher for so
many years, leaving the profes
sion left a void. “%eing in the
Johnston, Julia Simmons, Patsy Wade,
Peggy Winters and Shirley Walker. (Staff
Photo By D. J. Laan).
mentoring program gives me
contact ngtg tg; chilfilren and
although I am not actively
teaching now, I can still help
these students and share their
lives,” Walker added.
Pegg(})' Winters, Lyerly,
heard about the mentoringepro-
Eram through the Chamber of
ommerce newsletter. ‘“ After I
first heard about the program,
I acted immediately to become
a mentor and tho:fhts about
the program kept always com
ing to l:{ mind. I thm]z' it was
the Lord who was pron;Pting
me to do something to help the
wuth in n;fi community,”’
inters recalled. “My heart
kept saying, ‘do this’,” she
said.
Winters knew that a friend,
Diane Ward, was involved in
Mentor Hope so she called
Ward and asked for informa
tion about the program. *I
thought a lot about the time
when I was younger and older
see MENTORHOPE, page 3-B