Why I Mentor

Oklahomans in every corner of the state are volunteering time each week to make a difference in a child's life. The Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence has asked some of these mentors to share their experiences.

Melynda Stone with her menteeMelynda (Mendy) Stone, a lifelong Claremore resident, is executive director of Volunteers for Youth. She leads a staff dedicated to enriching the lives of young people in our community through a school-based mentoring program called PAL and an after school program called BLAST. She has been involved with Volunteers for Youth since 1998.

Why is mentoring important to you?
The highlight of my work week is the time I spend at school visiting with my ninth-grade friend Rachel. Mentoring Rachel has given me great joy as well as a better perspective on young people and the challenges they face on a daily basis.

How or why did you become involved?
As a staff member at Volunteers for Youth, I felt it was important for me to become a mentor myself. I now know firsthand how a mentor feels and what a blessing mentoring can be.

How have you personally benefited from mentoring?
Like many mentors will tell you, the sense of joy and fulfillment really makes me wonder if I am getting more from the relationship than my student.

Give an example of an activity you have shared with your mentee.
Rachel and I have an ongoing scrapbook project. I had given her a disposable camera with which to take photos of anything and everything meaningful to her. From those photos and others she already had, we are creating pages and filling her scrapbook. This was a great activity because “pictures tell a thousand words” and it gave me great insight into Rachel’s world.