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Published on 09/28/1998 All articles from this issue

'Partners' symposium speakers say mentoring can make all the difference in the world for kids

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By Clyde Noel

Special to the Town Crier

Partners for New Generations, the Los Altos Rotary Club-founded program that connects aspiring adult mentors with needy youth, kicked off a new year of intergenerational connections with last Thursday's symposium of inspirational speakers.

The third annual symposium for volunteers held at Graham Middle School in Mountain View, featured talks by Leo Chavez, chancellor of the Foothill De-Anza Community College District, Richard Fischer, superintendent of the Mountain View-Los Altos Union High School District, and Bob Hinds, assistant to 24th district State Assemblyman Jim Cunneen. It also offered visitors an opportunity to learn about the myriad options available in our area for helping youth.

"It used to be if you worked hard, success would be yours. That's not true anymore," Chavez said. "The world is changing so rapidly, today kids face uncertainty, confusion and dislocation."

Chavez said we tell our students they will face five-to-seven career changes in their lifetimes. Twenty-five percent of students will be in positions that won't exist 10 years from now, and 25 percent will work in a position that hasn't been formed at this time, the chancellor said.

"Most of our students have no idea what is out there in the employment field. We have a large turnover in our community and our schools because kids are insecure," Chavez said. "Schools now take the role of the family and even the church. So when you volunteer, you fill that void of a sense of attachment and belonging.

"Kids need confidence in their future. The future is uncertain and when you volunteer you give them confidence in their future." Chavez said. "One adult working with one child can give that child hope. And give some satisfaction to your life."

Fischer said he ran into a teacher in the 10th grade that influenced his life by helping him fill out a college application form. He said the high schools need monitoring adults. "You can be a significant adult in the life of a student. Without that help, I may not have gone to college," he said.

Hinds said that volunteering and monitoring by other people made him what he is today.

"You can make the difference. It only takes a couple of minutes a week with some child, and you will improve their life," he said.

At the end of the formal speaking program, the audience was asked to visit 18 different agencies and seek out an opportunity to volunteer.

This year's Partners program has been co-sponsored by the Los Altos Community Foundation.