TeamMates mentoring program celebrates 20 years
LAUREL — January is National Mentoring month. For the past 20 years, the Laurel-Concord-Coleridge School district has been offering a mentoring opportunity for their students, with the help of community members from Laurel, Concord, Coleridge, Belden, and Dixon.
Through the TeamMates Mentoring Program, mentors have been impacting the life of young people since 2001, giving them a sense of hope and vision for their future.
“Show me a successful individual and I’ll show you someone who had real positive influences in his or her life.”
This quote by Denzel Washington captures the real essence of the local youth mentoring Program.
TeamMates is one of the few volunteer programs that intertwine students and adults in an impactful, tangible way. It provides an opportunity for students to envision their academic and personal success by matching them up with caring adults.
The adult becomes a mentor to their teammate. The student becomes a mentee. They both become friends-and their relationship quickly grows during their weekly meets. Teammates usually spend their time together playing games, shooting hoops, crafting, or just talking. Along the way, the student starts to feel accepted, learns there is always someone in their corner, and begins to believe that success is something they can achieve. “The most beneficial strength of the TeamMates program is giving young people just a little extra adult attention,” says Alan Gotulla, Laurel- Concord-Coleridge School guidance counselor and TeamMates Coordinator.
This program would not see success without its volunteers. “The TeamMates program has a record of continued success due to community support” says Gotulla. The non-profit organization is headed by a Board of Directors and shepherded by coordinators, match facilitators, administrators, and school staff. Current board members include Dustin Thompson, Justin Eriksen, Regg Pehrson, Scott Kahn, Jeremy Christiansen, Ken Swanson, Melissa Graf, Kelly White, Sherie Lundahl, Mark Leonard, Carol Milander, Alan Gotulla and student representatives. Austin Hall. Some of its past coordinators include Susie Koranda, Arlys McCorkindale, Annette Junck, Bob Fritschen, Dr. Michael Nesbit, Julie Swanson, Christine Rasmussen, JoAnn Hauptmann, Jay Vance, Diana Badley, Melissa Graf, and Shawna Ranslem. Current Coordinators are Gotulla and Sherie Lundahl.
The mission of the TeamMates Mentoring Program is to impact the world by inspiring youth to reach their full potential through mentoring. It began in 1991 with the vision of University of Nebraska Head Football Coach Tom Osborne and his wife Nancy. Coach Osborne felt that the athletes in his program could make an impact on the middle school students, and twenty-two football players began meeting with middle school students in the Lincoln Public Schools. Of the 22 original mentees, 21 went on to graduate from high school while one left school early to pursue a successful Motocross career. Eighteen of the original mentees also obtained some form of post-secondary education. Today, TeamMates Mentoring Program currently serves 170 school districts in five states: Nebraska, South Dakota, Iowa, Kansas, and Wyoming.
Throughout its 20 years, LCC has recognized the importance of its many volunteer mentors. The program currently has 80 community volunteers working with students in grades 5-12. There are some students who are waiting for an adult mentor so they can begin their TeamMates journey. And there are more students waiting to sign up as soon as even more mentors can be found.
Even during the throes of a pandemic, LCC has been able to maintain an active mentoring program. Last spring, the program came to a screeching halt when the school closed down as COVID-19 hit the nation. When classes resumed this fall, new safety procedures were put in place to ensure a safe environment for Teammates to meet, which is of top importance to TeamMates. Some mentors took a break from the program, but new mentors have since been recruited. Fifteen new mentors have joined the Teammates program since August. This is a significant victory for the program, especially during this pandemic year.
See TEAMMATES, Page 5
Mentors are the heart of the LCC TeamMates program, and the reason the school has maintained a quality program. “LCC has been a great chapter” says TeamMates Mentoring Program Regional Director, Jay Wright. “They have a tremendous culture of mentoring and you can tell when you walk in the schools that TeamMates is important to the school and community.” During National Mentoring Month, the school recognizes the role of volunteers to our TeamMates program. Gotulla appreciates the contributions of mentors, saying, “The surrounding communities continue their support of the TeamMates program because of their continued support of our young people’’
Mentoring can shape and form the mindset of generations. Oprah Winfrey once said that a mentor is someone who allows you to see the hope inside yourself. LCC is proud to have mentors who want to give hope to the next generation. Mentoring is making an investment in the future. The future of this community is bright thanks to the TeamMates Mentoring Program and many mentors.
There is always a need for mentors, and LCC encourages anyone who might be interested in mentoring to sign up at TeamMates.org. Thank you, LCC TeamMates Mentors:
Dawn Addison Corbit, Carolyn Alt, Shannon Arduser, Pat Arens, Mindy Bach, David Badley, Alissa Baier, Becky Beckman, Nicole Benson, Meghan Brandow, Peter Brummels, Jaci Burbach, Melissa Campbell, Jeremy Christiansen, Sheri Christiansen, David Dendinger, Sadie Ebberson, Val Ebberson, Jessica Eriksen, Justin Eriksen, Jim Erwin Shana Erwin, Anita Gade. Verneal Gade, Terrie Galvin, Amy Gould, Melissa Graf, Melissa Graham, Amy Hall, Tayler Hall, Nancy Hansen, Pat Harrington, Julie Hart, Nancy Hartnett, Melanie Hartung, Ron Hirschman, Lesley Holloway, Andrea Johnson, Jerry Johnson, Scott Kahn, Shane Kinkaid, Lynette Krie, Julie Kvols, Russell Lambert, Deana Leonard, Mark Leonard, Jenni Lundahl, Sherie Lundahl, Clark Maxon, Floyd McCart, Alex Mckamy, Marcus Messersmith, Carol Milander, Ann Milliken, Sarah Naeve, Kevin Nordby, Steve Nordby, Lyn Papenhausen, Paige Parsons, Jaclyn Potts, Shawna Ranslem, Jessica Recob, Trisha Reifenrath, Angie Roberts, Sally Sayler, Wendi Schutte, Lisa Scoville, Heather Showen, Jim Splitt, Rachel Steffen, Julie Stone, Natasha Tasler, Dustin Thompson, Lisa Thompson, Darren Timberlake, Doris Troyer, Cherry Urwiler, Stephanie Urwiler, Jennifer Van Meter, Kelly White
Stay in the know!
To get news alerts on your cell phone, get the Cedar County News app in the ITunes store or in the Google Play Store.
