Helping Hand inside a Green Heart

We will be running an eight-week series on the Sources of Strength that our peer leaders and teachers will be sharing with us. We will highlight a different strength each week. This week, we want to share with you the different ways a mentor can be a source of strength for you. A mentor is someone you trust and who can help guide you through your adolescent adventure. A mentor is an important part of the Sources of Strength wheel. Having a mentor is a great way to expand your horizons and experience thing you had never thought of before...from books, to cultures and even foods. One of the project Mrs. Kleve, an 8th grade ICAP teacher, did to show junior high students the many mentors available in our school is the Helping Hands poster in the junior high commons area. Each student wrote a staff member 's name that they trusted on a paper hand and stapled them to a big green paper heart. I interviewed Mrs. Kleve and one of the questions I asked her was what Helping Hands was exactly, she replied, "Helping Hands is an off chute of the ornaments project our school did last year for Sources of Strength." Why is helping hands even a thing? "Helping Hands is a thing because, as teachers, we wanted to make sure that we knew where the students could turn to go get some help." according to Mrs. Kleve. Knowing where the students go to get help when they are struggling with depression, anxiety, or just flat out hurting is a good resource for the school district. Mrs. Kleve said, "Helping Hands is meant to be done as the 'mentor-type' people of Sources of Strength." As you look at the heart where the hands are all displayed you can see the love our teachers feel for us. It is great to know there are so many people in this building who student's can turn to in the rough and the good times in their lives. Our school district is full of people we consider mentors, but that does not mean there are not people in the community who could be considered mentors too. Who do you turn to when you need help? Who is your mentor? If you don't have one, take the time to find one...we all need someone we can turn to for help.