Sioux Falls leaders are calling city residents to engage in mentorship with young people in the community. This comes after missing a mentorship goal for last year.
In September, a city-backed initiative set a goal of 75 new mentors across Cleveland, Anne Sullivan and Terry Redlin Elementary schools. The effort has only seen 36 new mentor volunteers.
Jon Thum is the Sioux Falls Police Chief and one of the people encouraging mentorship in the city. He said they’re happy for some progress, but it’s not enough.
“I’m super excited about the people who have raised their hands and said, ‘Yes.’ However, being in my position, looking at numbers and looking at facts, the fact that we couldn’t get half of our specified goal is something I don’t really want to let go,” Thum said. “We want to celebrate mentorship, celebrate the people who mentor, but also look at this fact and say, ‘We can do better, and we need to better as a community in this area.’”
So, Thum said they’re renewing the call.
“That person is you. It’s not somebody else who needs to step up in the life of a young person in our community,” Thum said. “The impact in time is minimal, but the impact is huge.”
Thum said very citizen can play a role.
Mayor Paul TenHaken has also been adamant about encouraging mentorship in Sioux Falls. He says making a change for the better encompasses all stakeholders.
"If we want to make an impact in our community on the safety and well-being of it in the future, it starts upstream and it starts in investments in our youth. So, the mayor and the police chief and our police department, when there’s crime and there’s challenges in the community, we hear, ‘Well, what are you doing about it Paul? What are you doing about it chief to deal with some of these juvenile crime issues?’ Well, what are you doing about it community?” TenHaken asked. “That’s our call back to the community. What are you doing about it today? And what you can do about it today is answer the call to mentor young people in this community.”
The three schools are still looking for mentors to fill the openings on the student waitlist. Accordingly, tours at all three elementary schools are scheduled to learn more about mentoring and the schools. A tour is scheduled at Terry Redlin Elementary School at 8:30 a.m. on Friday, Jan. 16. A tour is scheduled at Anne Sullivan Elementary School at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 20. A tour is scheduled at Cleveland Elementary School at 9 a.m. on Friday, Jan. 30. You can signup for the tours by calling the Helpline Center at 211.
