Boys & Girls Club Blog

There is no doubt that the COVID-19 is affecting our world greatly. During this time when the Club is closed and we are not sure when we will be able to reopen, mentors and mentees have been staying in-touch with the safe messaging app called “Remind”. Remind allows for matches to stay in touch while being facilitated by the Mentoring Director. Additionally, we have brainstormed and researched on how to connect mentees and their mentors through video chat, while keeping the program’s safety protocols. What we decided to implement was a well known tool, Zoom. Zoom is a video chat program that many businesses are using during this time. It’s easy to use and can be used on a computer, tablet or smartphone. The Mentoring Director will facilitate all meetings by inviting the mentor and mentee to join in a video meeting.  We have communicated and implemented this video chat option at the end of last week and so far it has worked out great as a substitute for in person meetings. We hope it helps our matches stay connected during this time of separation.

Our Great Futures Mentoring Program currently has 53 mentoring matches and our in-school Be Great Graduate mentoring program has 21 mentees! There are currently a dozen students on our waiting list wanting to be matched with someone. We are searching for adult mentors who live in the Oshkosh area and who would commit to meeting with a mentee once a week. These meeting times normally would happen at the Club’s Teen Center after school hours or at the student’s school during their lunch or resource hour.

We ask mentors to do a grade/homework checks when they first meet. After homework checks, mentors and mentees are able to do something fun to connect over like sports, STEM projects, crafts, table games, board games, video games, cooking, etc. The possibilities are endless! 

These are currently difficult times to navigate but this could be the perfect time to find your match and uplift each other during these times. If you have any questions about the Great Futures Mentoring program, feel free to email Mentoring Director, Lyle Byre at lyleb@bgcosh.org.