Remember when Sioux Falls Mayor Ten Haken and other prominent organizations like the Helpline Center, the Rotary Club of Downtown Sioux Falls, Lawrence & Schiller, the City of Sioux Falls, and other business leaders, launched the Sioux 52 Initiative in January of 2020.

The goal was:

to recruit 5,200 mentors by 2026 and to encourage employers in the Sioux Falls area to motivate employees to give an hour each week—52 hours—to those in need of mentorship."

Ah, that was a good pre-COVID time, wasn't it?

But just like every other person-to-person activity, mentoring programs in Sioux Falls have learned to move to a virtual format, and a little of your time, a kind heart, and an inquiring mind are all you need to change a child's life for the better.

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TeamMates is a wonderful program that pairs a mentor with a child at Laura Wilder or Rosa Parks Elementary schools when they're in third or fourth grade and aims to keep them together through the child's high school graduation whenever possible.

TeamMates has been so successful that even more classrooms have asked for the program. There are 61 boys and 77 girls who need mentors right now! It only takes a 20-minute commitment from you every week.

You don't need any special qualifications. You'll receive all the training you'll need to succeed and make a connection with a child who just needs someone who's interested in them and their lives.

The next online training dates are :

  • Tuesday,  March 2, 6 to 9:00 PM
  • Wednesday, March 3, 8:15 to 11:15 AM
  • Thursday, March 4, 6:00 to 9:00 PM

The next starting date is March 9 and will continue every Tuesday through the end of the school year.

For more information, call the Helpline Center at 211, or see Helpline Center online, on FacebookTwitterInstagram, and Linkedin.

Sources: Helpline Center, City of Sioux Falls, and Sioux 52 Initiative

Leaders Park Sioux Falls

 

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