Kinship of Tomahawk was awarded a 2,500 dollar grant from AT&T Wednesday to support their youth mentoring programs for at-risk teens. Kinship pairs at-risk teens with community volunteers who work to prepare them for the new school year. Director Patti Hilgendorf says the grant will fund programs to equip the youth with important life skills.
“We have been doing some community service projects, we want to get some more educational pieces in for the kids, we want to try and teach them to be leaders and be able to be supporting community members when they grow up and be positive role models in the community…”
Kinship helps nearly 60 kids through their mentorship program, 20 of which are on the waiting list to be paired with a mentor. Kinship Coordinator Dawn Czech-Webster says teens that are on the wait list rely on the after school program for a safe and positive environment.
“...The teens are the hardest ones to find mentors for if they don’t already have them when they’re little. So we would like to expand another day after school without the little kids so the teens can come here by themselves for more one-on-one help…”
The Kinship Program runs on Monday and Wednesday evenings. Czech-Webster says the grant will help fund additional resources for the teens such as computers and games.
