Steve Brownlow and Andrew Peterson are friends.

Thursday, January 10, 2002

Steve Brownlow and Andrew Peterson are friends. And like a lot of friends they do a lot of things together. They listen to music, hang out at the Y, play basketball and racquetball, they go hiking and ride bikes, and go to basketball and football games.

One thing they don’t have in common, though, is their age: Andrew is 12 and a sixth grader at Hawthorne Elementary School and Steve is … older than that, and he works at Alliance Benefit Group in Albert Lea.

Since this past June, Steve and Andrew have been part of a local program that provides adult mentors for children.

The Community Mentor Connection is a local program housed in the Workforce Center. Its goal is to fill the need for positive adult role models for youth in the community.

&uot;The purpose of the program is to provide friendship and positive role models for kids. We’re not trying to replace mom or dad, but to help out in addition to what parents are already doing,&uot; said Karen Mehle, the mentoring program coordinator.

&uot;It’s really cool having Steve for a friend. Whenever we get together we do really fun stuff,&uot; said Andrew.

Andrew is part of the program because of his mom, who wanted him to have an adult male role model.

&uot;She was looking around for someone to spend time with me, and heard of the mentoring program. She asked me if I would like to have Steve as my mentor,&uot; said Andrew.

According to Brownlow, they end up spending maybe four hours together each week. He’s taken Andrew along for a family outing to Myre Big Island State Park.

&uot;We both have similar interests which makes it very easy for us to find things to do,&uot; Brownlow said. &uot;Whether it is biking, hiking, swimming, playing basketball or racquetball, we definitely keep busy and are always on the go.&uot;

Breakfast each Wednesday is one of the times they spend time just talking about what’s going on each other’s lives.

&uot;He never lets me pay for breakfast, though,&uot; said Andrew.

&uot;When you have a full-time job, then you can pay,&uot; responded Steve.

The full-time job will have to wait until Andrew finishes school, but since November he’s had a part-time job delivering the Freeborn County Shopper, and he also likes to play hockey and collect sports cards.

&uot;It was a little awkward at first, when we started meeting, but now I feel more comfortable,&uot; said Andrew. It helps that they both share thoughts and feelings with each other, said Steve.

One project that Steve and Andrew have initiated between themselves is their &uot;random act of kindness&uot; notebook. Each writes down something nice that they would like to do for someone, and then together they figure out how to make that possible.

Being a mentor brings rewards, and not just for the youth, said Steve. He gains a lot of satisfaction from his time spent with his young friend.

&uot;Andrew has a lot of dreams and goals and as a mentor I hope I can have some positive influence in his life that will allow him to achieve those goals. This past year we both have become friends, better listeners and understand the importance of just being there for the other person,&uot; he said.

Along with the one-on-one time between adult and youth, there are also large group events. Everyone is invited to go bowling as a group once a month and a few times a year there are special activities. This year the group of youth and adults has gone to the Minnesota Zoo, to watch the Twins play, and in December there was a Christmas party for everyone involved.

The only bad news at the Mentor Connection is that there aren’t enough adult volunteers available for all of the youth who need a mentor. More than 30 youths are on the waiting list.

The amount of time required isn’t all that much, when broken down over a whole week, said Steve. And mentors don’t have to be rich or popular -&160;just willing to take the time to spend with kids, said Andrew.

&uot;Kids today need mentors, they need adults and parents to be actively involved in their lives. Mentoring is a good investment for the future of all children,&uot; said Steve.

According to information compiled by the local Community Mentor Connection, Freeborn County youth with mentors are more successful at school and less likely to get in trouble. According to information about mentoring from national sources, 87 percent of mentored students go on to college, and while in school are less likely to be truant or skip classes.

The Community Mentor Connection is funded by a grant from the Freeborn County Family Services Collaborative and is one of the programs administered by Workforce Development, Inc.

Adults who are interested in becoming mentors are encouraged to call Mehle at the Workforce Center, 379-3409. Orientation and training are provided by the program, and there are regular opportunities to meet with other mentors and attend mentor training sessions.