KIDS on the Rise, a local nonprofit, celebrated January as National Mentoring Month by announcing this year's essay winners — Deanna Sola, a student at Glenn Martin Elementary, won Best Overall for her exuberant essay on her mentor, Ruth MacAndrew; Tiffany Medley, a student at Homestead Elementary, won first place in the K-4 grade division for her kind words about her mentor, Anne Otter; and Marshall Amis, a student at Homestead Elementary, won first place in the 5-12 grade division for how his mentor, Jerry McBride, has impacted his life.
Sola, as Best Overall winner, took home an MP3 player with speakers. First-place winners Medley and Amis each received a $50 savings bond donated by Progressive Savings Bank. An additional award of $10 to each of the placing winners was graciously donated by the Plateau Writers Group to foster writing skills. All essay entrants will be rewarded for their efforts with an afternoon of pizza, laser tag and game tokens at Chuckles.
Each essay entrant is a Cumberland County student who wrote on the theme of "Why My Mentor Is Special To Me."
Sola, the Best Overall winner, wrote of her mentor:
"How is my mentor special to me? How is she not? Where do I start? First of all, when I needed help on reading, she was there teaching me any way she could to make me understand it. Now I need help on math and she is there with ways to make me understand.
"I tell her I have problem and need help on a certain math question and she's there and I passed it like that. At first it went from 70 to Bingo 100! Now I'm doing dividing problems and I'm doing them a little faster. We're still working on it. We're getting to where I almost got the hang of it.
"She is also like an Aunt to me, too. Last year my house burned down and she helped me get clothes. She told me that God is watching me. Also that he had a purpose to why that happened. There was! If we would have lived there longer the driveway would have caved in.
"She is special to me because she is there for me no matter what, when I am mad or sad or even depressed because my house burned down and my dog and three cats died. Then my friend and I are now going to a different school. She was there for me. She is like super mentor. Because she is an aunt, teacher, and counselor.
"She is special because she is my best friend, she is my mentor. I would never want anyone else but her. She is the only one who has patience for me."
Everyone with KIDS on the Rise would like to congratulate all the students who wrote essays about their mentors. Not to be forgotten are the mentors who are making a difference in the life of each child.
If you'd more information on how you can be a mentor to a Cumberland County student through this United Fund agency, call KIDS on the Rise at 459-2388.
