By Jason Emerson

Editor

More than 100 children in Madison County will have new school supplies next year thanks to the efforts of students in the Cazenovia Middle School Mentor Program. After a month-long school supply drive, boxes of donated items were officially given to a representative from Madison County Department of Social Services this week.

“It took a lot of organizational time and energy for you to do this,” Theresa Snyder, with the county foster care unit, told mentor program students in an April 26 ceremony. “We can help up to 200 children with the supplies you collected.”

The middle school mentor program, started 22 years ago by former school guidance counselor Jennifer Glasgow, matches up students in fifth, sixth and seventh grades who can use positive role models with adult mentors from the middle school. Together they do individual activities such as bowling, fishing or even doing homework together, as well as group activities once a month.

“The Mentor Program provides our students with a positive connection to school; it pairs students with adults who care about them,” said Eliza Collins, middle school counselor and program coordinator. “The Mentor Program provides the students with the opportunity to build positive relationships with both school staff and their peers, all while participating in fun activities.”

Program participants also do different service activities throughout the school year, such as holding spaghetti dinners for local veterans and, their 2016 service project, gathering donations to help the administration and work of Wanderer’s Rest. This year, they decided to collect school supplies.

Mentor program students decided on the service project, made the donation boxes, posters and school announcements to tell their peers, as well as sorted and organized the donations once they came in.

“The kids orchestrated it,” Collins said. “They love it. They’re just very proud to be able to say they helped other people.”

Program participants Kenny Wilkinson and Justin Adams said they both feel good knowing they have helped other kids through their service project.

“It’s good that we did this to help other children,” said Wilkinson, a fifth-grade student at Cazenovia.

“It feels good that we helped support other kids in need,” said Adams, a sixth grader.

Snyder told the program students that her department works with kids and families across the county, including about 20 kids currently in foster care and over 200 children they support to help stay in their homes and not have to enter foster care. One of the things her agency does is help provide school supplies every fall to kids whose families cannot afford to buy any.

“Thank you for all your hard work and organizing,” she said during the April 26 ceremony. “I appreciate all that you’ve done.”