At-risk youth line up for mentoring

Dozens of local at-risk children are waiting for a mentor: a trusted friend and guide to help change a life.

That person could be anyone willing to share just one hour a week for a year, said Ruth Gordon, executive director of the Mentor Center of Western Nevada.

The center currently has 46 working matches between children and mentors, but Gordon will go before the Carson City Board of Supervisors on Thursday to announce more volunteer mentors are desperately needed for 23 kids on her waiting list.

Administered by the Boys and Girls Club of Western Nevada since 2000, the mentor center matches adults with youth who could benefit by having more caring people in their lives.

"This is a really good thing," Gordon said. "I really believe in sharing the gifts we have, because there's always someone else who has less."

Most of the children in the program are living at or below poverty level in single-parent homes.

"There is a real need for continued community support for this much needed service."

The center is funded by annual financial commitments from Carson City, the Carson City School District, Carson-Tahoe Hospital and Western Nevada Community College.

For the first three years of the center's operation, city officials allocated $15,000 per year, while the city's financial commitments decreased last year to $4,000 - $6,000, a portion of its annual allocation to the Community Council on Youth.

To help make up for the decrease, Gordon has secured federal funding in the form of a grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

The grant pays for IMPACT, an arm of the Mentor Center that provides mentoring for the children of prisoners: The Carson City School District Homeless Advocates estimates approximately 295 children have a parent in prison or jail.

Other issues Thursday's Board of Supervisors agenda include:

• A presentation by the Nevada Fire Safe Council and engineering firm Resource Concepts Inc. of the Nevada Community Wildfire Risk/Hazard Assessment results for Carson City. The report outlines wildfire risks and precautionary measures recommended for Carson City, Carson Indian Colony and the Clear Creek and Stewart communities.

• A recommendation by the Carson City District Attorney's office to change a Carson City municipal code that does not require drivers to stop at a red light while making a right turn and does not prohibit drivers from cutting through public and private property to avoid stopping at a red light.

•A request by the city manager for approval of a renewed agreement between the city and the Carson city Sheriff's Supervisory Association. The tentative agreement, which provides for the same salary adjustments recently approved for the Sheriff's Protective Association, includes salary increases of 5 percent the first year, 4 percent the second year and 3 percent the third year.

Contact reporter Robyn Moormeister at rmoormeister@nevadaappeal.com or 888-0564.

Be a mentor

• The Mentor Center of Western Nevada targets school-age children in the Carson City area. The child's parents, legal guardian, teacher or counselor should contact the center at 445-3346.

• Volunteers must be at least 18 years old and willing to give at least one hour per week for one year.

• Volunteers must have lived in the area for at least six months, unless they moved here with the military, their current employer or as a college or university student.

• Once volunteers complete training, they are matched with a child. All matches are monitored by the mentor center.

IF YOU GO

What: Carson City Board of Supervisors meeting

When: 8:30 a.m. Thursday

Where: Sierra Room, Carson City Community Center, 851 E. William St.

Call: 887-2100