Va. awards program recognizes outstanding mentors to children

Published: February 13, 2009

Adults sharing time and talents to mentor a child often work without much formal recognition.

But yesterday, outstanding mentors received awards and applause from an appreciative audience of 250 during the seventh annual Virginia Mentoring Awards program, held during a luncheon at The Jefferson Hotel.

"Research shows mentoring works," said Jennifer J.S. Slabaugh, president of Virginia Mentoring Partnership, a nonprofit organization that has trained 19,500 volunteer mentors to date.

While an estimated 25,000 children have benefited from the mentors, there are "145,000 young people in Virginia who could be matched. So our work is not done," she said.

Jeffrey W. Durkee, a board member of MENTOR, a nonprofit working to expand quality mentoring initiatives nationwide, spoke about a program he started in Baltimore with 25 students five years before they were to graduate.

Through consistent interaction, mentors helped the students, some attending schools with a 30 percent graduation rate, to overcome obstacles and stay focused in school.

"Not all 25 graduated," he said. "But 23 did.

"I hope you remember one person can make a difference and each of us should try," Durkee said.

Award recipients were Claudia Biegler and Susan Meyers, mentors at Swansboro Elementary School and co-chairwomen of the Richmond Jewish Coalition for Literacy; and police Sgt. Darrell E. Nichols, a mentor in Fairfax County Public Schools.

Outstanding mentoring programs honored were the Latino Education & Advancement Program at Steward School in Henrico County and the Young Women Leaders Program at the University of Virginia.

The S. Buford Scott Leadership Award went to Capital One Services Inc.

After the awards, workshops were held on best-case practices of mentoring programs and on a Web-based evaluation program that monitors the results of mentoring relationships.

Contact Robin Farmer at (804) 649-6312 or rfarmer@timesdispatch.com.