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axine Moore is a mentor’s dream
M come true. This young woman is
respectful, punctual, dependable, and
willing to do whatever it takes to improve
her life. Maxine was not always in need. As
a matter of fact, she used to work full time.
Maxine’s life changed suddenly about 5
years ago, and circumstances forced her to
lose her home and to seek help, in order to
care for her three children. Luckily for her,
she was introduced to the Waverly Family
Center, where she found the appropriate
guidance and solace.
Receiving the correct information is so
important when you lose your way in life.
One has to understand that things happen
that we have no control over, and we have
to find a way to move on from that point.
During our first Junior League of Baltimore
Women’s Mentoring Program meeting at
the Waverly Family Center in September,
each of 20 prospective mentees filled out an
intake form, submitting information on
themselves and their children as well as
their goals for the program. Each mentee
Community Council
WOMEN’S MENTORING: THE IMPACT OF MENTORING
A personal experience by Junior League of Baltimore member Marlene Sandler
had a different goal, but most of them were
trying to obtain their GED and become
employed. Since all of them had children,
we tried to impress upon them that their
parenting skills and financial skills had to be
improved before they could become gainfully
employed. Eventually, they all wanted
to live independently, and not depend on
social services.
The mentoring program allowed mentees to
meet with their Junior League of Baltimore
mentors usually twice a month from
September through April. Junior League of
Baltimore committee members worked with
Sharon Thomas from the Waverly Family
Center to help develop the programs for
each meeting. The first meeting of the
month included a speaker from outside of
the Center and the Junior League of
Baltimore, with the second meeting of the
month for discussion and follow-up.
Mentors and mentees then had one-on-one
meeting time after every speaker and
discussion. The Junior League of Baltimore
mentoring committee members also had
committee meetings at the end of each
session. As I was to find out over the course
of the year, my contact with my mentee
outside of these sessions was to prove very
important, as well.
During the first one-on-one session, I had
the privilege of speaking with a woman
named Maxine. That evening, I decided that
I was going to be Maxine’s mentor, and do
whatever I could to help her to be
successful.
When I asked what she needed help with,
she mentioned that she needed help to lose
weight. Many of you know that I am an avid
walker, so I immediately helped her
implement a daily walking schedule and
encouraged her to drink a lot of water
throughout the day. This was easier for her to
do, because it not only gave her the exercise
she desperately needed, but added extra
money in her pocket by cutting down on
the trips she was taking using public transportation.
Maxine now has four children to raise, and
is determined to be able to afford housing
in a safer and more desirable neighborhood.
She was very eager to reenter the
workforce once again, so I helped Maxine
to enroll in the Nursing Assistant Certification
Program at the Caroline Center. She
was hesitant to commit to 15 weeks, but
she needed a refresher course in order to
renew her State of Maryland Certified
Nursing Assistant (CNA) License that had
lapsed.
I also submitted information for mini-grants
for each mentee in the program who was
capable of entering a program or course
that would eventually lead to employment,
and made arrangements with local
community colleges (such as Baltimore City
Community College and Community College
of Baltimore County) to be certain that
the women would be welcome to be included
in the summer sessions.
continued on page 7
Junior League of Baltimore
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