Wallowa County Youth Mentoring is a new program in the community that is currently recruiting volunteers and accepting referrals for young people to become mentees. A screening and training of all prospective mentors is required prior to a young person being matched with a mentor.

An orientation is scheduled for Jan. 14 from 5-5:45 p.m. at the Prairie Creek Center; and training is scheduled for Jan. 21 from 5:30-9 p.m. at the Prairie Creek Center, 104 Litch Street, Enterprise.

If you like spending time with young people ages 10-15, are a good listener, are patient and flexible, are nonjudgmental and can commit to meeting with a young person one hour a week for a minimum of one year, and are interested in receiving more information about Wallowa County Youth Mentoring, or you would like to register for the training, contact Stephanie Williams at 426-9114 or 432-7010.

If you are a young person and you are interested in more information or if you are a parent who feels that your child might benefit from a formal mentoring relationship, please contact Williams at the above numbers. Additional information can be found at the following websites: www.ormentors.org and www.mentoring.org.

“Who Mentored You” is the theme of this year’s National Mentoring Month. This is a time to celebrate those people who have been mentors and thank them. It is also a time to think about how mentoring might support a young person you know, and it is a time to ask yourself how you can “give back” and become a mentor yourself. Research shows that when a young person can connect with a trusted adult there can be positive contributions to the life, development and behavior of an adolescent. Providing a youth with consistent adult support can help improve grades, family relationships and help prevent initiation of drugs and alcohol use.