The MSMS Boys and Girls Club mentorship program will be coming to a close for the semester on Thursday, December 8. The program will restart with opportunities to join upon return from winter break.

This program has provided the opportunity for MSMS students to mentor a child at the Boys and Girls club of Columbus for one day (Tuesday or Thursday) out of the week since the beginning of the fall semester. Each visit lasts roughly an hour, and the mentors are tasked with helping their student complete any homework they have and then playing for the rest of the time.

The partnership between MSMS and the Boys and Girls Club helps serve both the participants and their mentees.

“I think it is really good for them to interact with so many different kids their age,” senior Braeden Foldenauer said.

While it is exciting for the children to have a mentor, many of the mentors involved enjoy their time there just as much.

“I enjoy seeing my kid. She reminds me that things are happening and that people exist outside of my own little dorm room,” senior Reagan Poston said.

Foldenauer pitched in every week and never got bored. “Every week with the club has been equally refreshing. Whether it’s the coloring or the basketball, it’s my favorite activity each week, and I cant imagine my Thursdays without it,” Foldenauer said.

Though many mentors have only had a few short weeks to bond with their assigned mentees, Poston has been a participant every semester since the beginning of her time here at MSMS. When she started, Poston said she “never expected to make such an emotional connection with my mentee. I was expecting to connect with her through spelling words and long division, but I never expected to be so invested, to miss her after just one missed meeting.”

Foldenauer, who has also been a participant for three full semesters, agrees.

“I had no idea that my mentees would be so impactful on me. Over this past year and a half, I have grown really attached to each of my mentees, and I really look forward to seeing them each week,” Foldenauer said.

When asked if they plan on returning to boys and girls club next semester, both Foldenauer and Poston replied “yes.”

Whether it’s playing board games, basketball, or hide and seek, the Boys and Girls club mentors are able to enjoy their time with their mentees while influencing them in big ways. The mentorship program is a wonderful way to earn community service hours while also making company with the happy-go-lucky students of the Columbus Boys and Girls Club.