During difficult economic cycles as we strive to do more with less, taking additional time from our calendar may be the last thing we want to think about. Yet serving as a mentor provides significant benefits not only to the child or professional colleague being mentored, but also to the person willing to offer their expertise.
In a time when so many of us go through our days feeling a sense of being on auto-pilot, a reminder that our intellect, skill, experience, and talent can be a real boost to our general malaise. Being a mentor reinforces the fact that we are admired and looked-up to, and that there are those who aspire to make more of themselves both for their families and their community, building on the foundation that we have provided.
No where is this need for mentoring greater than in communities in Wichita where socio-economic indicators create micro-environments from which our youth and teens struggle to escape. Lack of jobs, food desserts, and poor schools conspire to deprive the next generation of progress, which in turn deprives the next generation as well, and so on. It is a cycle from which few would naturally emerge. Yet, through mentoring, each of us has the ability to assist in ending that cycle for someone with whom we share our community.
Time is a valuable commodity, so the causes and people to whom we offer ours is the true indicator of what you think is important. I hope that the future of Wichita’s children makes your list.
