Extracts from Clarke County Mentor Program

Benefits of Mentoring
– Extracts from Clarke County Mentor Program

Mentor – Mentee Stories

Hi Everyone,

Pause and take a minute to reflect on these questions.

What are my expectations for the Young Leaders Mentorship Program?
If any, am I on my way to achieving them?
Will my story be like those below?

These are testimonies of people who engaged in a mentorship program and I want to recommend their stories to everyone involved with YLMP.Let's learn and make the desired impact.Enjoy Reading!!

One Mentee – 15 Years Later

Over 2000 students have participated in the Clarke County Mentor Program since its inception in 1991. One decided to give back.

Kevin Epps was among the first group of Clarke County students to participate in this project. As a fourth-grader at Cleveland Road Elementary School, Ed Benson became his mentor.

Epps left Athens for college in Washington D.C. but pledged his return to Trudy Bradley, Director of the Clarke County Mentor Program. While away at college, Epps felt such strong ties to the program that he started up a Mentor Program there as well. Epps has been a mentor for about a year now, though he is still coupled with his mentor Benson, now 87-years-old. According to Epps, he began taking lessons taught to him and then teaching them to others. “Everybody needs a mentor,” said Epps, “They’ve given me so many benefits, made me a better person. It would be selfish not to give back.”

For Epps, the experience becomes way more than simply writing a check to a favorite charity, it is being in the position to help a child’s life then truly seeing a positive result.

On the fifteenth anniversary of the Clarke County Mentor Program, Bradley, Director since 1991, has not only seen the program grow but also seen the quality of character it produces.

Rusty Clifton on Being A Mentor

The Clarke County Mentor Program has been a wonderful blessing in my life. I began mentoring Westervelt Henson about 3 years ago when he was in fifth grade. At the time, he was struggling both academically and socially. Today I am proud to say that he is making wonderful grades; he is a starter on his football team and has become a leader to his peers. I certainly can’t take all the credit for his success because he is a very bright young man, but I like to think that the guidance and advice I have been able to give him has helped make him a stronger, respectful and better-rounded individual.
The mentor program serves many purposes and not all are geared toward the mentees. One of the greatest aspects of being a mentor, one I never realized until I got involved, is that by giving back to others it has made me a better person. I feel that is the true spirit of helping others...that we ultimately become better people. It works out to be a true win-win for all parties involved and IT’S FREE!
Another great purpose for being a mentor has been that I have become much more vested in the community in which I live. This has not only helped me meet some wonderful people (volunteers, teachers, parents, etc.) and feel more comfortable where I live but has helped my business succeed. I found that I am now part of the fabric of our citizenry. I strongly encourage you to take 1 hour of your week to make a lifetime difference in someone’s life and your own.
Rusty is a real estate investor and developer. He, his wife and son live in Clarke County.


Source: Clarke County Mentor Program