June "Mentor of the Month"

This Month's Oustanding Mentor is Jill Rushing-Fonte!

Jill mentors an eighth grader at La Cumbre Junior High. Jill and her mentee have been together for almost two years. Over the past two years, Jill has done an excellent job encouraging her mentee to believe in herself and to apply herself academically. Jill will be receiving a gift certificate for two entrees at the Natural Cafe. Great job, Jill! Keep up the good work!

Carpinteria Fire Station and Foster's Freeze Field Trip

The Fighting Back Mentor Program will be visiting the Carpinteria Fire Station and Foster’s Freeze next Tuesday, June 3rd from 4-5 p.m. We will have the opportunity to see the equipment, hear about a typical day in the life of a firefighter, and learn about the career development aspect of how and why the Carpinteria firefighters chose to pursue this career. This is a great opportunity to talk with your mentee about future career aspirations! :-)

After we are done at the fire station, we can all walk over to Foster’s Freeze and grab an ice cream cone. Who doesn't like ice cream?! ;-) Please RSVP by May 30th if you and your mentee would like to attend.

Remember When...

I found the above pictures and thought some of you may appreciate a little walk down memory lane. :-) Enjoy!

Santa Barbara City College Tour

Here is a picture of a few of our mentors and mentees at our Santa Barbara City College tour last week. We had a grand total of four guys and six girls--not including Juliana and myself. Our tour was entertaining and educational! :-) Hopefully, more of you will join us next time around!

Summer Opportunities--A Partial Listing

Hi Mentors!
With summer vacation quickly approaching and many of you asking about summer activities for your mentee, I wanted to share some possibilities with you:

PAL Campership Alliance Scholarships
If your mentee is interested in attending a summer camp, I would strongly encourage you to contact the PAL Campership Alliance Program as they still have scholarships available for a variety of local camps. You can click the above link to go to the PAL website or give them a call at 962-5560 for more information.

UCSB's Youth Enrichment Adventure Program
UCSB's Gevirtz Research Center is putting on their annual Youth Enrichment Adventure (YEA) Program for students going into 7th or 8th grade. The YEA Program is an outdoor education program that provides science, math, language arts, leadership, and technology activities.

The program dates are June 30th-July 25th. The only cost for this camp is a $25 registration fee. Transportation, lunch, and a variety of fun and educational activities are provided free of cost!

For more information on the YEA Program, please contact YEA Program Coordinator, Erik Johnson, at 893-5779. We also have a few application packets here at the Fighting Back Mentor Program. Let us know if you would like one. :-)

Boys and Girls Club
If you are concerned about your mentee spending long hours alone during the summer, you may consider encouraging them to join their local Boys and Girls Club. This would allow them to spend time in a supervised environment where there are a variety of activities for them to get involvd in. The Boys and Girls Club can also serve as a great meeting place over the summer!

The membership fee is only $25 for an entire year! There is also an opportunity for students to do some cleaning around the clubhouse in exchange for a scholarship to cover the cost of their membership fee.

If you are interested in learning more about this opportunity, I would encourage you to contact their local Boys and Girls Club. See the below listing of addresses and phone numbers for local clubhouses:

Westside Clubhouse:
602 W. Anapamu St., Santa Barbara, CA 93101
Phone: 966-2811

Downtown Clubhouse:
632 E. Canon Perdido St., Santa Barbara, CA 93103
Phone: 962-2382

Goleta Clubhouse:
5701 Hollister Ave., Goleta, CA 93117
Phone: 967-1612

Carpinteria Clubhouse:
4849 Foothill Rd., Carpinteria, CA 93013
Phone: 684-1568

101 Free Things to Do in Santa Barbara
If you Click Here you will find a downloadable brochure with 101 free activity ideas specific to Santa Barbara. :-)

I hope that some of these ideas are helpful to you! If you have any comments, questions, or additional ideas, please leave a comment! I am looking forward to hearing your feedback and ideas! :-)

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1. Click on the "Comments" hyperlink below the post.
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May "Mentor of the Month"

This Month's Outstanding Mentor is Aaron Edelheit!

Aaron mentors a 5th grader at Peabody Charter School. Aaron and his mentee have been meeting since the beginning of the school year. They enjoy handball, football, basketball, and working on homework together. In his mentee's own words, "Aaron taught me to do my best at everything in life." Aaron will receive a $20 gift certificate to Chili's Restaraunt. Great job, Aaron! Keep up the good work!