Middle School Mentoring Launches at Paulding and Judkins 

The Middle School Mentoring Program in collaboration with Lucia Mar Unified School District is underway. We are excited to welcome 60 new middle and high school students from Paulding and Judkins middle schools and Arroyo Grande High School to our mentoring family.

Middle School Mentoring pairs high school sophomores and juniors with 7th and 8th graders on middle school campuses for a professionally facilitated, weekly supervised group and individual activities after school at the middle school campuses. High school students will mentor middle school students through their 9th grade year at Arroyo Grande High School. At the end of their 9th grade year, students can apply to become mentors and participate in the leadership phase of this program.

We are happy that we are seeing the results of successful mentoring being paid forward by a former Community Based Little who is now a Middle School Mentoring Big. Jay’s application was very inspiring and shows how mentoring changes lives.

“I appreciate you giving me this amazing opportunity to connect with a middle school student and help them become a stronger force in life. I was a little when I was 12 through 15, and it was a wondrous experience. Since then, I have wanted to provide a similar experience to someone younger than me and, while I do not have any babysitting or caretaking experience, I fully understand the ramifications of the position and am willing to learn all the rules and guidelines and follow them strictly.

My previous Big taught me a lesson that I will never forget. He said, “Here’s a way to do good on anything in life. Tell yourself ‘I know what I know, and I’ll do the best that I can’.”, and I hope to apply this lesson, and teach many lessons to my Little similarly to Mr. Miyagi in The Karate Kid (1984). Thank you for reviewing my application, and I sincerely hope we can find the perfect match for me and for the Little,” says Jay.

We are looking forward to watching Jay connect with his Little and support his interest in paying it forward and empowering the potential of another Little.