LINCOLN TEAMMATES Celebrating National Mentoring Month

January marked National Mentoring Month.

It was also a special month for Lincoln TeamMates because it marks the half-way point of the school year.

We continuously review our wait list and strive to welcome as many adult volunteers as possible into the TeamMates family.

The most common things we hear from our 1000+ mentors about their volunteer experience are, “I get more out of it than my student does,” and “Why didn’t I start sooner?”.

We’ve trained 160 mentors already this school year and we’d like to add at least 100 more in the next two months! Is 2023 the year you set aside time for one visit a week to help a young person notice and develop their strengths? We’re experts at matching adults and children based on lived experience and interests.

Currently, Lincoln students have to wait an average 266 days to get matched with a caring adult.

If you are considering becoming a mentor, here’s what you can do:

• If you want to learn more about making a mentor’s difference in a young person’s life, please visit our website: https://lincolnteammates.org/.

• Tune in through February to “The TeamMates Mentoring Hour” on 93.7 “The Ticket,” Wednesday nights from 6-7 p.m. to hear from Lincoln TeamMates mentors themselves.

• If you know you are ready to begin, please apply on our website: https://lincolnteammates.org/become-mentor/.

• The informative and lively training leaves mentors feeling relieved and ready to start their mentoring adventure. To register, go to our website: https://lincolnteammates.org/become-mentor/training/new-mentor-training-sign-up/.

Aven Green Sleuthing Machine

by Dusti Bowling

Aven Green is a super spunky eight-year old who doesn’t have arms. She doesn’t let this slow her down and has all kinds of adventures, solving mysteries around her, such as her grandma’s missing dog and the missing food around school. She even has a “ninja chop” contest with her best friends during a sleepover. Aven’s (adoptive) parents celebrate her “can do anything” attitude and Aven celebrates the uniqueness of her friends. For example, she just loves her friend’s unibrow. This is a fun-loving and inclusive story; young readers will enjoy the ride.

Finding Junie Kim by Ellen Oh

This novel tells the contemporary tale of 7th grade Korean American Junie Kim finding the courage to confront racism in her middle school, as well as Junie learning of her grandparents’ experiences in Korea during the Korean War. The story is based on author Ellen Oh’s mother’s story of being separated from her parents with her siblings, and their struggle to survive during the Korean War. When Junie Kim hears of the extreme hardships her grandparents suffered, and the bravery they needed to survive, she is emboldened to speak out with other students of color about the racism and microaggressions they experience in their middle school. The accessible novel provides an age-appropriate glimpse of the horrors of war, and inspiration for standing up to racism in contemporary American society. A glossary helps define Korean terms.

On the Hook by Francisco X. Stork

On the Hook is a painful but powerful story of Hector, a promising chess player who is Mexican American, and the terrible turn of events that lands him in a reformatory school alongside his worst enemy. Hector struggles with the internal conflict of what it means to have courage, and whether revenge or self-preservation are more important. This book also forces the reader to consider whether those who commit violent acts deserve compassion. Highly recommended.