By Tim Blaylock, CPO, Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Oxnard, Port Hueneme
April 5 , 2006

Do you remember when you were a kid? Which grown-up do you remember most? A special teacher? Your coach? A volunteer? It just takes one day. It just takes one caring adult. It just takes one Boys & Girls Club.

Who changed your life?

Sometimes, all that young people want and need is someone who will listen to them and care about their challenges and dreams.

Traditionally, this important role is filled by parents, but in a world in which single-parent households and two working parents are all too common and children are sometimes forced by economic and societal pressures to grow up too fast, young people are often left needing positive adult influences.

It is for that reason that mentoring is so important and why so many more volunteers are needed.

Common sense would indicate that a positive adult influence in a young person's life can have a considerable impact on helping youths choose the right paths. We believe mentoring a youth changes the world two lives at a time.

Research is clear that mentoring helps young people establish goals, improve school performance, stay out of trouble and, perhaps just as important, simply feel important.

What is less talked about, however, is the extraordinary contribution this experience makes in the life of a mentor. A survey by AOL-Time Warner found that 99 percent of those in formal mentoring programs say they would recommend it to others.

The Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Oxnard and Port Hueneme believes that with more caring adult volunteers we will have a greater chance of helping even more young people become caring and responsible adults. That is why we have teamed up with Oxnard Mayor Tom Holden and Port Hueneme Mayor Tony Volante to kick off our 2006 annual fund Mayors' Campaign for Kids.

The Mayors' Campaign, "It Just Takes One," conveys the idea that every person who cares can do something to help our next generation. It is a marketing andfundraising campaign that is encouraging those who are in a position to help financially or through volunteerism to assist those who need us the most. The real goal is to turn this campaign into a community campaign for kids. More neighbors helping neighbors, parents, and caring adults stepping in and up and giving whatever they can to advance this important imitative.

We know that mentoring and volunteer programs are not substitutes for a caring family. However, we also know that community support and a concerted effort to make our youths a priority can help us create a community that is second to none when it comes to giving children hope.

For more information on how you can help with the Mayors' Campaign for Kids, go to http://www.positiveplace4kids.org or contact me at 815-4959, ext. 203.

To find out more about the Boys & Girls Club in your area, contact:

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

Boys & Girls Clubs of Conejo and Las Virgenes, 493-2917, http://www.bgcconejo.org

Boys & Girls Club of Greater Oxnard/Port Hueneme, 1-805-815-4959, http://www.positiveplace4kids.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, http://www.bgcsimi.com

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