New Mentoring Program Aims To Reach Court-Involved Youth

(Ottawa County, Michigan) World record ultra-marathon athlete Jim Dreyer, who swam across all five Great Lakes in support of the Big Brothers Big Sisters Program, announced today that he is launching a new mentoring program that he believes will recruit much-needed volunteers for mentoring organizations that partner with him. Dreyer, of Byron Center, is recruiting men and women with an adventurous spirit and the will to make a difference for his Adventures In Mentoring (AIM) program, a unique mentoring experience set in the great outdoors. The AIM program will be piloted in Ottawa County, and will match court-involved youth with volunteer adult mentors for participation in a year-long adventure racing program, as an introduction to positive alternatives to delinquent behavior. Volunteer recruitment is currently underway for the April 2009 kickoff of AIM.

AIM matches will participate in seven-week spring and fall sessions that include six weekly instructional clinics given by experienced adventure racing coaches in the disciplines of orienteering, mountain biking, paddling, climbing, and wilderness survival. Both sessions culminate in a weekend camp where matches work together as a team and test their skills in a 5-hour survival exercise and 5-hour adventure race. The YMCA’s Camp Manitou-Lin and the surrounding Yankee Springs Recreation Area in Barry County will be the site of AIM’s spring camp on May 30-31. The fall camp will be held at the YMCA’s Camp Pendalouan and on the neighboring grounds of the Owasippe Boy Scout Camp in Muskegon County on September 19-20. Planned monthly activities will be held for matches between sessions.

The inaugural 2009 AIM program is being sponsored by the Ottawa County 20th Circuit Court Family Division – Juvenile Services to serve youth involved in court programs, including the Juvenile Drug Treatment Court and Juvenile Justice Institute. AIM has partnered with Infiterra Sports of Flint to coordinate AIM events and clinics, and with Michigan State University Extension who will manage AIM casework through Ottawa County’s Journey 4-H Youth Mentoring. Casework responsibilities include screening, training, and matching mentors to mentees. Caseworkers then provide ongoing support and guidance to matches, and record, measure, and evaluate program outcomes.

“I believe the AIM program has a true point of difference that will assure it’s success as an effective mentoring tool,” Dreyer stated. “Matches will go through the program side-by-side and work together as a team to meet the challenges of mother nature. This experience will nurture positive relationships and teach valuable life lessons. Ultimately, mentees will develop new interests, life skills, and the confidence to blaze a trail toward healthy and productive lives.”

“AIM is also truly unique as a mentor recruitment tool,” Dreyer added. “For the most part AIM mentors are asked to simply step into a pre-planned group activity and share their passion with a future generation. We make it very easy for volunteers, as the program provides common ground for mentors to engage their mentees, and they basically just have to do what they enjoy and probably already make time to do. Furthermore, while appealing to outdoor enthusiasts and adventurers of both genders, I believe AIM may be the answer to the age-old problem of how to put more men in mentoring. In most mentoring programs the majority of the kids waiting for a mentor are boys, but the majority of the volunteer mentors are women.”

For more information on the Ottawa County Adventures In Mentoring program, visit the Journey 4-H Youth Mentoring website at www.msue.msu.edu/ottawa.