Janean G. (Guthrie County Mentoring - New Opportunities, Inc.)

I am writing to express my thoughts regarding the Guthrie County Mentoring Program. When my daughter and I were matched with Brianna (name changed to protect anonymity), a little girl from (name of town deleted to protect anonymity), it was a perfect fit! When we met back in December, we instantly bonded and always looked forward to spending time with each other.

Brianna was always invited to participate in our family activities. During the school year, our time was spent attending (name of school deleted to protect anonymity) school activities such as basketball games, track meets, drill team, and prom events. Some of the other things we did together include going to Perry to swim and eat pizza, prom dress shopping, going to Carroll, going to the state track meet in Des Moines, coming to our house to make cookies and play games, and staying overnight at our house. We also went to watch Brianna play pee-wee basketball.

Brianna had some behavioral issues at school. School personnel, Briann's mother, and I would communicate in an effort to address the problems jointly. Based on everyone working together, Brianna was ultimately able to be more succesful at school.

We were heartbroken when we found out Brianna was moving to Texas. When she and her family left in early June, it was extremely hard to say good-bye. Our greatest hope is that the experiences Brianna had through the mentoring program have made a life-long difference in her life.

Even though it's impossible for us to think of mentoring someone other than Brianna right now, we will continue to be very supportive of the Guthrie County Mentoring Program.