By Tim Blaylock
Chief professional officer of the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Oxnard and Port Hueneme
February 6, 2008

Research has shown that mentoring programs can be a powerful tool in reducing drug abuse and youth violence, while greatly enhancing a young person's prospects for leading a healthy and productive life. In fact, most successful people say that they had a mentor along the way who guided and encouraged them, like U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell. The key, however, is community support and individual involvement. Mentoring cannot happen without strong local, regional and national endorsement at many levels, and adults who are willing to give of their time and themselves for a young person.

You may be considering acting as a mentor and yet hesitating. Is it worth the investment? Will I make a difference in this person's life?

These are good questions to ask yourself. You want your time and effort to count because you have other priorities to juggle. You should never serve as a mentor if you don't want to.

Here for your consideration are some potential benefits of your taking this step. Maybe one or two of them will influence you to venture forth.

1. Protégés need your expertise.

You have a wealth of life experience no matter what your age. You know how to provide a listening ear, plan a project, make things happen, study and evaluate situations, talk to individuals and groups, influence others to take steps, bargain, write documents, coach, express your feelings, and/or hundreds of other abilities. Thousands of individuals could benefit from grasping at least one thing you know.

2. Protégés need your particular expertise.

Protégés don't just need the general expertise you own; they need your particular version of it. How you do it differently from others. The unwritten rules you've learned on how to do it better, faster, more enjoyably, or with more sensitivity. No one but you knows this, and it will end with you if you don't pass it on.

3. It's a way to leave a legacy.

Are you a parent or guardian? If so, you have a natural way to leave a legacy to the world through your children. You can also leave an important legacy through the work you do, what you create, improve, and influence that makes the world and the people in it better for having you in it. Mentoring at least one young person well is another powerful legacy you can leave. A part of you, your experience, and your character will be a part of that person's journey, which, in turn, is likely to be a part of someone else's. Mentors really can change the world one person at a time.

4. You'll learn from your protégés.

We hear a lot of buzz these days about "reverse mentoring." This means that the person normally thought of as the mentor is the receiver of guidance and learning from the person normally thought of as the protégé. An example of reverse mentoring is the corporate world in which older mentors are learning computer tips and tricks from their younger counterparts. No matter what your protégés know and can do, you'll learn something from them about their worlds and experiences.

5. It's satisfying to see young people shine.

As a youth development advocate and professional who has worked with a variety of youths on issues ranging from every social ill our society has to offer, including divorce, lack of self-esteem and drug and alcohol abuse, as well as many emotional and positive life experiences. I know there is nothing quite as exhilarating as seeing a young person get beyond a difficulty and become better than he or she thought possible. It's truly a high! This doesn't always happen when we reach out and try to help another, or at least it doesn't always happen in front of our eyes. But we can help them start the process and pass them on in time to another mentor who takes them further. If we're fortunate, we'll see at least one person flourish. That, quite frankly, is the best payoff of mentoring.

As you start off this year and we approach Valentine's Day, I hope you give some thought to mentoring and become part of the movement to recruit and encourage caring adults to become mentors for our young people. We at the Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Oxnard and Port Hueneme would love to hear what you decide to do. For more information on volunteering/mentoring with our organization, please contact Tiffany Lopez at 815-4959 or at tlopez@bgcop.org.

I would also like to announce that we have kicked off our annual Ten Thousand Dreams House Raffle. For more information go to http://www.tenthousanddreams.net. Tickets are $150 and we are selling only 18 thousand tickets — they're a great gift for Valentine's Day. Our goal is to serve an additional 3,000 young people, and to accomplish that we need your support.

For more information on the Boys and Girls clubs in Ventura County go to:

• Boys & Girls Club of Greater Oxnard/Port Hueneme — 815-4959 or http://www.positiveplace4kids.org.

• Boys & Girls Club of Camarillo — 482-8113 or http://www.bgccam.org.

• Boys & Girls Clubs of Conejo/Las Virgenes — 1-818-880-8577 or http://www.bgcconejo.org.

• Boys & Girls Club of Moorpark — 529-1140.

• Boys & Girls Club of the Santa Clara Valley — 525-7910.

• Boys & Girls Club of Simi Valley — 527-4437 or http://www.bgcsimi.com.

• Boys & Girls Club of Ventura — 641-5585 or http://www.bgclubventura.org.

VenturaCountyStar.com