We All Need a Mentor

Dani Neal, Volunteer Coordinator

If you were to walk into my home on any given evening at 5:30, you would find me cooking dinner surrounded by three little boys all wanting something from me. My five-year-old is peppering me with questions, my three-year-old is begging for a snack and my sweet baby is hanging out in his highchair demanding more Cheerios. Somehow, they always manage to end up right next to me as I’m about to drain a pot of hot water or pull a pan from the oven. Without fail, my three-year-old is always mere inches away from being scalded or burned. 

It’s in that moment that I pray my husband would walk in the door from work and take the heavy pot or the baby or one of my big boys. There’s a split second where I’m desperate for an extra set of hands to help ease the chaos in my kitchen. The relief I feel when he shows up to help finish dinner is real and wonderful. 

We are meant to experience relief from the chaos in real ways. It may not be in the form of extra hands at mealtimes, but definitely in the form of community and relationship.

Brookside Community Development Corporation has opportunities for you to feel relief and offer relief all at the same time. January is National Mentoring Month and through mentoring we are able to offer those involved in our Reentry and Play programs focused attention and relational development. This is a mutually beneficial opportunity where volunteers can offer relief and feel relief through the intentional act of community.

Our Reentry program offers mentoring in the form of small group mentoring. We are in need of mentors to walk alongside a small group of men or women and share in their lives. Mentors are also needed to serve our students in After School Play and the Education and Employment Academy. Mentoring a 6th-12th grade student in a one-to-one format allows for our students to take a breath and feel heard. Please consider joining our efforts to offer relief through community.  

If you’d like more information on mentoring, please contact Dani Neal at dani@bccindy.org.