A Look Back: Reading Adventures Camp
Be A Mentor (BAM) is exactly what it says in the name- an organization that believes one of the best ways to support youth in our community is by consistently mentoring others. Lao Tzu said it best, “Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime”.
Since accepting the job of Program Director at Be A Mentor, Emily Cruse has focused largely on creating the most effective mentoring relationships in our community. She believes she has a recipe for success which starts with a clear understanding of who you are serving, while remaining focused on being a lifelong learner and staying up to date on evidenced based best practices. Emily believes, “Each community, school, parent and child are different. Together, we have to listen and put ourselves out there to truly understand”.
Be A Mentor believes wholeheartedly in the above quote, knowing there are times where we must support one another in more tangible ways. According to Maslow's Theory of Human Behavior, one cannot focus on higher-level needs such as relationships and esteem, if basic needs are not first being met. Highlighted by the pandemic, Be A Mentor quickly realized the only way to maintain relationships was through collaborating with other organizations and individuals. In addition, Be A Mentor helps to expose families to wrap-around services and opportunities. Be A Mentor teaches people how to access existing resources. Never did Be A Mentor imagine the opportunity that would come from their own mentors.
Be A Mentor focuses largely on the Eastside Community by establishing mentors at the Saint Julian Devine Community Center, creating community events, and providing tools for the center to utilize. BAM shares that many of their youth are highly intelligent, but significantly behind academically, largely due to the inability to focus. Many youth face the effects of poverty and many have witnessed gang and gun violence. Youth have been traumatized and struggle with being in constant fight-or-flight mode. In addition, many young people missed a large part of first grade. This is a crucial year in school, as this is when they learn to read and learn many of the needed social emotional skills.
The majority of Be A Mentor Mentors made it a point to read with their mentee and encourage academics each week. One very special mentor, Anya Pechko, quickly realized that reading is one of the best gifts we can give our youth. She started fighting for the cause and gathering steam to do an intervention program; thus, became our BAM Reading Adventures.
A very generous mentor, local attorney Lucius Laffitte, called attention to this need among his coworkers. In response, the South Carolina Bar Young Lawyers Division gifted a very generous donation to BAM to fully cover the costs of the camp. This allows Be A Mentor to create its first Reading Adventures Camp: three weeks focused on reading basics to help those going into second and third grade ignite the spark for a love of reading and kick off the school year with more structure, confidence, and fun.
With a certified teacher leading the curriculum, Be A Mentor focused on an evidence-based, hands-on approach to teaching the building blocks of reading. Every morning started with learning hello in other languages through song, followed by a morning meeting to set the day’s intentions and plan, tactile practice and activities, and ending with lunch. Every day, activities were varied and moved through quickly to keep up with the youth’s attention spans. This kept the kids engaged throughout the morning.
“Three weeks is not nearly long enough to get our youth where they need to be, but there is so much value in the consistency and the fact that we are continuing with them throughout the school year”, says Program Director, Emily Cruse. The first week of camp, there were two shootings that took place in the area which deeply affected our youth. There were days it was incredibly hard to focus on reading because they simply needed a safe space. Recognizing a community need that parents were seeking additional love and support, Be A Mentor took dinners to those families, where deeper relationships were built. The second week of camp, the center was forced to shutdown due to a Covid exposure in another area of the building. BAM was flexible and met the students outside in a park. Our youth truly craved and desired the one-on-one atmosphere Be A Mentor was able to provide with our volunteers. Each day, the youth left after having a morning of enriching fun with their bellies full, feeling a little smarter and begging to stay a little longer.
Be A Mentor would like to say THANK YOU to those who funded the program and all of the additional donations/supporters: South Carolina Bar Young Lawyers Division, Lucius Lafitte, Anya Pechko, Project Be, Allison Miller, Ansley Gathers, Katherine Bloder, Lauren Ogden, Sara Ramsey, Louise Deely, Lewis BBQ, Callie’s Hot Little Biscuit, Trader Joe’s, Nadia Klincewicz, Eli Chester, and Charleston Recreation Department. The partnership of organizations and individuals truly shows the power of our community.