TeamMates of District #29 -- Auburn, Peru, & Brownville
Mentoring -- positively impacting the world by inspiring youth
by Nancy Fuller
July 10, 2009
Most successful adults can readily identify a list of positive caring adults who made a difference during their growing up years. It may have been a neighbor, a scout leader or coach. It may have been an interested adult in one's church. The caring adults came from many walks of life, however, the one commonality was an interest in youth. These adults served as informal mentors -- they repeatedly showed youth that everyone has potential to do good things.
With this idea of mentorship in mind, a group of District #29 educators and community patrons came together to develop a mechanism for students to find a caring adult -- one who could provide "a listening ear" and genuine interest. The educators and patrons started meeting August 2009 to plan and implement a new type of mentorship program.
TeamMates, a mentoring program created by Nancy and Tom Osborne, seem to provide a framework for the type of mentor program envisioned by Auburn, Peru, and Brownville adults. The primary goal of TeamMates is to match youth with an adult mentor in the student's elementary years. Hopefully, the mentor will maintain the relationship until the student graduates from high school.
The Advisory Board for District #29 TeamMates chapter include the following educators and patrons:
Laura Osborne – President (Director of Nemaha Against Drug & Alcohol Abuse – NADAA)
Kevin Reiman – Vice President (Grades 6-12 Principal)
Dianne Peterson – Secretary (Grades K-5 School Counselor)
Kathy Bucy – Treasurer (Grades 6-8 School Counselor)
Jean Anderson – Peru Community Patron
Barb Billesbach – District #29 Board of Education
Katy Billings – Auburn Community Patron & Law Enforcement Dispatcher
Eli Davidson – Youth Minister for Auburn Christian Church
Nancy Fuller – District #29 Director of School Improvement and Curriculum
Jim Grant – Auburn Community Patron & Farmer
Kristin Kudrna – District #29 Grades 9-12 School Counselor
Sharon Pollard – District #29 K-5 Principal
Bill Snyder – Peru State College Professor and Auburn City Council Member
