Tag: Affinity Mentoring

Marissa and Nancy’s Story

A Mentor Story: Marissa and Nancy
By Rachel Lopez

Nancy quietly slides into the seat next to me, she timidly looks up and asks me my name. I tell her my name is Rachel and that I work for Affinity Mentoring. She immediately looks more relieved. I tell her that I want to learn more about her experience in the mentor program.

Nancy’s smile widens as proudly tells me that she just beat her mentor playing Chutes and Ladders. Nancy, a 3rd grader at Burton Elementary comes out of her shell when she’s around her mentor, Marissa.

Marissa admires Nancy because “she accomplishes everything she sets her mind to.” She describes Nancy as “funny, energetic, and determined.” Nancy agrees, nodding and giggling, “I get crazy when I eat a lot of cookies.”

The both look at each other and laugh as they remember when Nancy finished the March Reading Challenge and earned vanilla-cream cookies. The lesson learned from that day was to read books before eating a plate-full of cookies and getting a sugar-rush. Nancy adds that she didn’t eat all of the cookies, she brought some home to share with her family.

Nancy might remember the cookies the most, but her teacher notices the difference in her academics. “Last year [Nancy] was at a kindergarten reading level, she had no foundational native language, and was unable to count by 2’s,” explains Ms. Carbone, a third-grade teacher at Burton Elementary.

Her weekly mentoring sessions with Marissa helped her immensely.

“By the end of the year Nancy had gone up 10 points on her MAP test and this year she has passed her unit math tests with 90% or higher! I attribute this to [her mentor] Marissa. She teaches her compassion, patience, and loyalty. Now she is a confident, thriving, and mindful advocate for herself and others,” exclaims Ms. Carbone.

This was Marissa’s first year as a mentor and she has already signed up to come back for fall. She recalls her brother (a mentor to another elementary student) telling her that she would be a great mentor for Affinity and that she’d love it. She happily reports, “he was right.”

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If this sounds like something you think you’d be good at and enjoy (or you think you might know someone that would) check out How to Become a Mentor.

Mentoring not your thing, but you think it’s pretty cool? Check out How to Become Monthly Sponsor to support matches like Marissa and Nancy.  

 

Program Alumna and Affinity Staff: Angela’s Story

Wearing her favorite pair of converse sneakers Angela lugs her rolly backpack up the last few steps. She loves school. A little timid and shy, but she absolutely loves reading. Her favorite book is Junie B. Jones is a Graduation Girl. She wants to do well in school, make her parents proud and their sacrifices worth it.

Program Alumna and Affinity Staff: Angela’s Story
By Rachel Humphreys

Holding hands, 8 year-old Angela and her 3 sisters quickly dart across the street and into the safety of Burton Elementary’s brick archway. Her long, dark pony tail swishes as she runs.

Wearing her favorite pair of converse sneakers Angela lugs her rolly backpack up the last few steps. She loves school. A little timid and shy, but she absolutely loves reading. Her favorite book is Junie B. Jones is a Graduation Girl. She wants to do well in school, make her parents proud and their sacrifices worth it.

Hard-working, strong, and supportive, Angela loves her parents. They emigrated from Mexico before she was born, in search of a better life and more opportunities. Her biggest wish is to spend more time with them. She doesn’t quite understand why they have to work so much.

Her parents leave for work each morning at 4am and get home after 7pm. They get home tired each day. As the second oldest, Angela takes care of her younger sisters – gets them ready for school, helps them with homework, and walks with them to and from school.

Her mom is always positive, despite even some of the most difficult times. She remembers one bitter-cold winter where they didn’t have heat. Angela and her sisters crawled in bed each night with their parents to keep warm. Her mom would nudge her dad and ask him to tell stories. They’d fall asleep laughing together.

Other days they didn’t have enough food. Angela would look forward to the the free lunches at school. She could see the pain in her mom’s eyes when she asked if there was anything to eat.  Her mom always found a way to make it work. Angela remembers waking up the next morning to warm tortas and chorizo con huevo.

A few months into second grade she meets Wendy. She’s tall with dark blonde hair. She hasn’t met many people that look like Wendy. She brings her a pink Snapple juice. Even though she’s unsure why she needs a mentor she starts to enjoy hanging out with Wendy.

Wendy has this way about her, “You just know she’s listening, like really listening.” It makes Angela feel important and more confident. Wendy comes each week to see her.

She helps her with homework and they read lots of Junie B. Jones stories, but mostly they just talk. Wendy loves to hear what Angela thinks, what she wants to do when she grows up, and answers her millions of questions. To Angela, Wendy has all of the answers.

At the end of the school year Angela and her family move. It’s hard being the new girl. Sometimes Angela gets teased for her dirty uniform. She only has one and can’t wash it every day. She’s often lonely, but seeing Wendy is a bright spot. Her new school doesn’t have in-school mentoring so Wendy starts visiting Angela and her family at their house.

At first Angela is a little hesitant to share her mentor with her sisters, but she realizes how much fun they all have together. Wendy comes over after school. While her mom makes dinner the girls and Wendy watch movies, giggle, and talk.

She has never met anyone as cool as Wendy, “I wanted to be like her. She made me want to be there for someone like she was there for me. She made me feel smart and like I could do anything. When there wasn’t enough food or we we didn’t have electricity I would forget about it when I was with Wendy.”

Fifteen years later Wendy and Angela still keep in touch. Angela and her family moved 6-7 times and Wendy moved to Chicago when Angela was in 7th grade. However, that didn’t stop either of them. Wendy is still one of Angela’s biggest role models, “I really appreciate her. Sometimes I feel lost and she helps me focus.”

“When the movie ‘Hidden Figures’ came out Wendy messaged me and told me I should see it. She said that I would love it because of how much I enjoy math. I couldn’t believe she remembered.”

Angela still enters those brick archways each week at Burton Elementary, but now for a different reason. She is the Program Assistant for Affinity Mentoring and the entrance of the old building has been renovated into Affinity’s Mentor Center. “After Burton was renovated everything looks so different, everything but the archways. It’s exactly as I remember it. I remember being in this school and now I get to help students like me.”

This fall Angela will be continuing her degree at Grand Valley State University. She plans to become a social worker. She wants to help the Hispanic community and families like hers to feel safe, loved, and supported. Like Wendy did for her.

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To support more matches like Wendy and Angela you can sign up to become or a mentor or sponsor a mentor match.

Hear Angela’s story in her own words …

Program Alumna and Affinity Staff: Angela’s Story from Affinity Mentoring on Vimeo.

Mentor, Donor, and Partner: David’s Story

Mentor, Donor, and Partner: David’s Story
By Rachel Lopez

“Richy has a soft heart, a real soft heart. I love this kid,” smiles Dave. Over the past 7 years they have developed a deep bond, “We did a little bit of academics and a lot of playing – he’s a pretty self-motivated kid. He’s probably better at math than I am,” he laughs. Dave has gone to a lot of Richard’s family events, and Dave invited him to his daughter’s wedding this summer.

On the books their mentorship ended in 2016 when Richard, transferred to City Middle School. However, they’ve remained close, “We still keep in touch. I see him 4-5 times each year.” Now an 8th grader, Richy is starting to think more about college, “I’m looking forward to helping him navigate his college aspirations. I told him him when he graduates college I’ll take him to any soccer game in the world.”

Dave has worked at Gordon Food Service (GFS) for 27 years. Over the years he has been a mentor, donor, and partner. Originally Dave, heard about the opportunity to become a mentor and jumped at it. Later on he began recruiting more GFS employees too, “It started with info sessions, but it’s a cool community here. There are lots of hearts to serve so it wasn’t hard to get mentors.”

No longer a formal mentor, he sees himself as an advocate for Affinity Mentoring, “I don’t mind getting people in touch with senior leadership. It’s a ministry I believe in and want to support. I know it takes money to run and support the staff. I want to see [Affinity] be maintained and grow.”

He had a vision to grow the partnership. He brought the idea to Cliff Charles [the former Director of Diversity and Inclusion at GFS] and asked if he could “provide the horsepower to do it.” The team along with passionate mentors, like Will Holland, ran with it.

The partnership with GFS now boasts over 60 mentors and it’s still growing, “Our [company] culture is reflective of our values. [Affinity Mentoring] ties in closely with the values of GFS – the Gordons are an amazing family, there are hearts to serve at various levels.”

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Contact us if you’re interested in becoming a mentor or starting a partnership with your organization.