BECOME A MENTOR

The tournament has been giving to Cornerstones of Care since 2019, and their most recent fundraising event in April raised $3,000 for the organization. They have also hosted a few private bowling events for youth in the Ozanam Campus Residential Treatment Program.

While Alan may have a special gift for bowling, he openly admits that he has nothing on his 13-year-old mentee, *Miles, when it comes to basketball.

“He is an awesome basketball player; he kicks my butt every time we play,” said Alan.

Since August 2023, Alan has been visiting Miles weekly through the Cornerstones of Care mentorship program. Their time together often revolves around their shared love of sports; a favorite outing for Miles was the College Basketball Experience in downtown Kansas City. Alan and Miles also share a love of ice cream and often go off-campus to buy the sweet treat.

One rewarding experience for Alan came during Christmas when he visited his mentee and brought him gifts, including his favorite basketball video game, joggers, a hoodie, and a personalized water bottle.

“He said to me, ‘You’re the best mentor! You’re reliable, and you always show up,’” said Alan.

Being someone his mentee can rely on was one of Alan’s biggest hopes going into the program. At first, Miles was slow to open up, but once he and Alan established a relationship, he was more willing to share. Alan has been intentional about giving his mentee time to develop a sense of trust, especially given what he’s experienced in life.

“His parent’s rights were terminated, and then he had foster parents, and their rights were terminated,” said Alan. “Being that young, it has to be so difficult, and if I can do anything to make a difference for someone ­– that’s really what drives me and makes me passionate about helping and working with kids.”

When Catherine was 13 years old, she had a family friend who served as a mentor for her and her brother. He took them golfing and to the arcades, cooked meals for them, and did what he could to support their single mother.

“He didn’t have to – we weren’t his kids,” said Catherine. “But he created a fun, safe place for us just to be kids and enjoy life.”

Several decades later, Catherine plays a similar role as a mentor for *Javon, a 14-year-old boy in the Ozanam Campus Residential Treatment Program.

Catherine first started visiting Javon in 2022. She knew he was athletic, so many of their meetups centered around sports, like playing football or basketball together on campus.

During off-campus outings, Catherine often tried to build in learning opportunities and incentivize good behavior with special activities and events. Often times, they would attend events at the local library.

Utilizing her public health background, she would teach Javon about healthy eating by having him compare price tags and nutritional labels at the grocery store. When they ate out, Catherine had Javon determine the tip amount to help him get used to using money.

“It was cool to see certain things we practiced during our time together start to sink in,” said Catherine. “Things that help guide him in his daily life that they don’t generally teach you in school, and if you didn’t have mentors to teach you those things, you wouldn’t understand or know them.”

After a year of mentoring, Javon was transferred from the Ozanam Campus to a different residential facility several hours away. Catherine stepped in as a kinship foster home for Javon for about six weeks during the interim period between facilities.

Despite the difficulty of this transition, Catherine and Javon still maintain a close relationship and talk on the phone two to three times a week.

“In my career, we have a lot of beneficial mentor-mentee partnerships,” said Catherine. “I wanted to do that for my community, especially for teens and youth, so they know how important they are and can make a positive difference in the world. This mentorship opportunity has been extraordinary. They placed me with the perfect kid; Javon has certainly been a huge blessing to me,” said Catherine.