Early Intervention: Friend Fitness
Information for Mentors
The Second Mile Friend Fitness Program serves adolescents, ages 12-17, through a strength-training and mentoring program. The program is currently available at LionHeart Fitness in Centre County and the Upper Main Line YMCA and Conestoga High School in Chester County. The mentors, the Program's most valuable resource, are responsible and committed adults with the skills necessary to provide support and encouragement for the student's progress both within and outside of the workout setting.
While the on-site responsibility of the mentor is to supervise his/her student(s) together in the strength-training exercises while creating a supportive, caring environment that will foster the growth and development of the mentor/student relationship, the goal of The Second Mile Friend Fitness Program is to establish a growing relationship between mentor and student that influences the student's life away from the workout sessions. So that this relationship has time to flourish, mentors commit to bi-weekly workouts for a minimum of one year. We have seen the mentor's influence lead to increased self-esteem and better performance in many areas by the student, as the mentor talks about the goals and issues the student and his/her school counselor have targeted as important.
Becoming a mentor does not require past experience with the Friend Fitness strength-training method or with mentoring youth. The Friend Fitness Program will provide training. What it does require is a willingness to care consistently. Many students in the Program have experienced disappointment from adults in their lives who have broken promises or failed to provide the support necessary for them to thrive. As a result, our participants often feel unimportant and insignificant.
Our mentors demonstrate the importance of each child in a myriad of ways - offering undivided attention during workouts, focusing on the student's life and goals during workout discussions, following up to learn about workout absences, and remembering and celebrating the adolescent's progress and achievements whenever possible.
And the result? When the mentor-student relationship flourishes, students experience increased self-esteem and their performance improves.
This is a great opportunity to make a difference in a young person's life. The mentor/student relationship is what makes the Friend Fitness Program so special. Individuals interested in exploring participation as a mentor should fill out and return the application below or contact:
CENTRE COUNTY |
|
CHESTER COUNTY |
Virginia Meadows
|
|
Ingrid Cantarella-Fox
|
Director of Programs, The Second Mile
1402 South Atherton Street
State College, PA 16801 |
|
Friend Fitness Coordinator
1416 Berwyn-Paoli Road
Berwyn, PA 19312
|
(814) 237-1719
|
|
(610) 249-9631
|
Mentor Application
Please select the location of interest and print and mail application to the appropriate address listed above.
|
![\"\"](\"/images/global/shim.gif\"){kind=spacer}
