Commentary Anna Skinner
Even in the cities of Hamilton Co., a little help goes a long way – especially when that helping hand is leant to a child in the community.
On Sept. 24, the Westfield Youth Assistance Program held an orientation for six new members. After evaluating hobbies and age preferences to find a good match, those members will be assigned a child in the Westfield school system to mentor throughout the year.
Being a Westfield resident my entire life, I am very eager to identify myself as one of the six new members. Also among the new members are Kelly Radabaugh, Jeff Williams, Lori Peters, Amanda Campbell and Tom Coyle.
While much of the organization is focused around one-on-one interactions with the mentor and the child, there are various fundraisers throughout the year. Included was Mayor Andy Cook’s annual Yellow Tie Ball earlier this summer – raising $12,000 for the organization – and the Family Fun Walk and Fall Festival at Ameriana Bank coming Oct. 10, among various others.
And despite doing different individual interactions with their mentee, the mentors all unite in one goal: serving as an early intervention and reliable adult in the lives of at-risk kids.
“I think it’s exciting to be able to be involved in the life of a child (through) an organized program so we can support them,” said Lori Peters, an employee of Thieneman Construction in Westfield.
For more, visit http://youthassistance.org/westfield/.
