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Norwalk's Human Services Council Plans To Honor Mentors

NORWALK, Conn. -- The Human Services Council’s Norwalk Mentor Program will honor its mentors with a special evening at The Stepping Stones Museum on Tuesday, Jan. 28, from 5:30-7:30 pm.

Eva Beau (right) mentors Xhamya Williams in the Human Services Council's Norwalk Mentor Program.

Eva Beau (right) mentors Xhamya Williams in the Human Services Council's Norwalk Mentor Program.

Photo Credit: Contributed
Benjam Oatis (right) is a mentor to Isaiah Figueroa.

Benjam Oatis (right) is a mentor to Isaiah Figueroa.

Photo Credit: Contributed
Deanna Levine (right) mentors Neno Brown.

Deanna Levine (right) mentors Neno Brown.

Photo Credit: Contributed

The evening comes during National Mentoring Month, a campaign aimed at expanding quality mentoring programs to connect more of our community’s young people with caring adults.

Nancy Pratt, Director of the Norwalk Mentor Program, said: “Mentoring relationships are basic human connections that let a young person know that they matter, and mentors frequently report back that their relationships make them feel like they are someone who matters in another person’s life.”

Mentor Frank Simone shared: “I have learned from my three years as a mentor to a now senior student at Brien McMahon that weekly mentoring makes a very real and positive difference.”

A mentoring match through a quality mentoring program provides a young person with a consistent and reliable relationship with an adult. Founded by Dr. Susan Weinberger, the Norwalk Mentor Program is such a program, and is one of the longest running school-based mentoring programs in the country, with a strong partnership with Norwalk Public Schools.

The program exists with continued support from the City of Norwalk, individual donors, local businesses, and giving organizations, including: United Way of Coastal Fairfield County, the Norwalk Children’s Foundation, General Electric, the Xerox Foundation, the First County Bank Foundation, AT&T, and FactSet.

Over the last school year, the Norwalk Mentor Program facilitated 268 mentor/mentee matches and provided 11,340 hours of mentoring to Norwalk Public School students. However, there is a definitive need for program expansion. “The number of students who would benefit from mentoring exceeds the number of available mentors,” said Anthony DiLauro, Executive Director of The Human Services Council. “We are actively recruiting new mentors, and strive to expand our donor base, so that more students may participate.”

To learn how to become a mentor, make a donation to the Human Services Council’s Norwalk Mentor Program, or sponsor the Jan. 28 event, visit www.hscct.org or contact Nancy Pratt at: npratt@hscct.org.

Established in 1986, The Norwalk Mentor Program is part of the Human Services Council, a non-profit organization which creates and fosters programs that educate, safeguard and empower the people of our community.

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