In the fall of 2009, a shy Olivia Martin moved in with her grandma and enrolled as a freshman at Dunwoody Academy, a charter school housed at North High School.
Martin, 15, was off to a poor start when she was recruited by a Dunwoody staffer to join Project Diva, a small nonprofit that brings three dozen underprivileged girls together with female business mentors every Saturday at Sumner Library to make connections that can lead to school and career success.
"I see school now as what I need to be successful, and I started to enjoy school and get better grades," said Martin, who chats and smiles more than a year ago. "I like what we do in Divas, talking about life choices, good decisions, responsibilities. And we volunteer. I'm a better member of my family and my community."
I couldn't let slip by January, National Mentoring Month, without a column about kids benefiting from a caring business mentor.
Patrice Cox, a personnel officer at RBC Financial, is a Diva "financial consultant" who spends Saturdays and more with Martin and other girls, working with other Diva volunteers to assist with personal finance education, job-site visits, internships and career programs through area colleges.
"Divas help level the playing field for some of these kids," said Cox, who also is raising her own family with her husband. "It takes a village. I enjoy watching Olivia and these other girls grow. Olivia has become a leader."
Each girl takes and discusses the "Envision Exercise," a simulation through the online "Reality Store" that focuses on the value of education and skills, disciplined money management, the staggering financial and human cost of teen pregnancy and more.
A number of these girls, including Martin, who aspires to be a doctor, will finish high school as certified nursing assistants, ready to work for $12 an hour at a health care facility. They also are prepared for community college or a four-year university.
Jasmine Clark, 17, a senior at Dunwoody, is attending a program for aspiring dentists at the University of Minnesota and is applying to St. Catherine University. She volunteers several times a month and already has qualified for thousands of dollars in scholarships.
The Diva 'network'
Believe me, none of the Divas was to the manor born or has a well-connected mom or dad who can tap a business associate for a nice summer job.
"Divas helps build these girls a network," Cox said. "And we require them to listen, learn and 'pay it forward' through volunteering."
Neda Kellogg, a Dunwoody Academy employee, runs Divas, which pays no salaries, and serves 40 kids via about $50,000 in annual donations.
"We make sure they have Saturday lunches, transportation, outings to seminars, events and to meet successful people, and we want the experience to be professional and upscale for them," Kellogg said. "We also help these young ladies pay for personal necessities, winter gear, what they may need that their families don't provide. We want them focused on school and their future."
A few years ago, a Wilder Foundation study estimated that quality mentoring organizations provide about $3 a year in societal benefits -- lower public costs and higher taxes paid -- for every dollar invested. Successful kids get into less trouble. They go on to good jobs and to start businesses.
We could use a few more like Patrice Cox and these young women.
Mai-Anh Kapanke of the Mentoring Partnership of Minnesota, an umbrella group for local mentoring efforts, estimates that about 25,000 state adults work with about 150,000 Minnesota kids. Anecdotally, the number of enlisted mentors has declined slightly in recent years.
The heck with statistics. There are just too many kids out there who need a caring adult to help guide them to a productive future.
Neal St. Anthony • 612-673-7144 • nstanthony@startribune.com
