The C.A.R.E.S. Mentoring Program kicked off its new school term with a meet and greet at Lockard Elementary School on Thursday to bring parents and students together with their new mentors.
Coordinator Yalanda Preston described the event as an opportunity to make introductions, talk about goals and expectations and establish camaraderie before the actual interaction began on Monday.
The mentoring program serves students at Carver Elementary and Lockard and currently has 290 children enrolled and so far about 90 percent of them have been paired with a mentor but she is expecting another 25 new kindergarten students, which will bring her total to 315, so she is still recruiting mentors.
Preston, Principal Daphne Heflin, Mentor Betty Petty and others addressed the group briefly on the importance of mentoring and its impact on the students.
Anyone interested in being a part of these young people’s lives through mentoring should contact Preston at 662-378-7212 or Melissa Walker at 662-207-6731.
