The Golden Eagle Education Foundation recently celebrated another year of success for the local mentor program, with nearly 100 residents sharing their time and experience with local students in need of a little extra attention, guidance or challenge.

Following a proclamation from Mayor Linda Kavanagh acknowledging January as Mentoring Month in Fountain Hills at the Jan. 21 Town Council meeting, the GEEF and many local mentors gathered for a “Thank You Breakfast” on Jan. 27, which was also a celebration of the National Mentoring Organization’s “Thank Your Mentor Day.”

The GEEF’s Jeannie Ryan and Sandy Davis hosted the breakfast, which included testimonials from those in attendance, a second reading of the proclamation from Kavanagh, as well as a chance for local mentors to share stories and ideas with one another.

According to organizers, the Fountain Hills Mentor Program’s goals are simple: To offer our children the opportunity to reach their maximum potential.

“By providing trusting relationships between young people and individuals, the program is aimed at developing our youth’s confidence, competence and character,” explains a breakdown of the program at thefhmp.org.

The local program has nearly 100 mentors this year, some of which have worked with local students for more than a decade and other who are mentoring several students at once. The mentors now work with students at all sites within the Fountain Hills Unified School District, including McDowell Mountain Elementary School, Four Peaks Elementary School, Fountain Hills Middle School and Fountain Hills High School.

Mentors only spend about an hour a week with their student but, according to Ryan and Davis, that little bit of time makes a huge impact on the lives of students. Some mentors work with their students in areas they struggle with, while others are on-hand to provide more challenging work for students who excel.

Ryan and Davis recently visited the FHUSD governing board in January, too, presenting the latest facts and figures from the organization.

As of this year, more than 1,400 students have been mentored by local volunteers, with 93 members working with more than 128 students this year alone.

According to the presentation, a third of local mentors follow their students from year to year, providing consistency as well as support.

“Eighty-eight of our mentors reported seeing improvement in their student’s overall work,” said Davis.

“Ninety-two percent regularly did school work with their students, with 54 percent doing socialization and life skills and 21 percent working on behavior.”

After conducting a parent survey, 94 percent of those who took part said they would like to see their child continue with the mentor program, with 88 percent saying the Mentor Program had been helpful in assisting their child achieve goals and meet with success.

Mentors have a lot of support in the classroom, too, with every teacher involved reporting that the Mentor Program had a positive impact on their students.

Additional comments from mentors, parents and local teachers can be found in the accompanying story.

For those interested in getting involved with the local mentor program, visit thefhmp.org or email info@thefhmp.org.