The Roanoke (VA) Chapter of The Link, Inc. this year launched a comprehensive youth mentoring program, “Linked to Success: Growing up GREAT.”
Under the direction of the chapter’s “Services to Youth” facet, educational sessions were provided weekly to fourth-graders who attend the 21st Century After-School Program at Roanoke’s Hurt Park Elementary School.
GREAT is an acronym for Grooming, Respect, Education, Arts and Technology. The program’s aim is to build self-confidence and self-esteem, promote healthy living and provide training in life skills and goal setting.
The chapter has partnered with other community organizations and individuals to conduct weekly sessions. January and February sessions, for example, featured guest speakers who gave presentations on personal hygiene, dental hygiene and dental health, exercise and body image, and confidence building.
Sessions on careers, exploration of the arts, technology use, and global opportunities and awareness, were to take place in March, April and May. However, activities were suspended once schools closed under local and state orders related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Growing up GREAT sessions will resume at the start of the new school year this fall.
“The Roanoke Chapter Links has implemented this project at Hurt Park Elementary to inspire hope, ignite the imagination and foster a love of learning so that students will be motivated to achieve their life’s aspirations,” said Carolyn Patterson, chapter president.
Future plans include a school-wide Career Day at Hurt Park Elementary. All students at the school will have an opportunity to meet with locally owned business leaders and public safety representatives. They will also meet with African-American business leaders throughout the City of Roanoke and surrounding communities.
As Hurt Park students prepare for Standards of Learning (SOL) testing, Roanoke Links will provide nutritious snacks to all students, recognizing that it is hard for children to focus, display a high attention span, and achieve high academic performance when they are hungry.
The chapter invites businesses and individuals interested in participating in “Growing up GREAT” to contact Carolyn Patterson at (540) 819-5145 or write to: Roanoke Chapter of The Links, Inc., P.O. Box 13933, Roanoke, VA 24038.
