Beyond School Walls opens doors to volunteering
March 7, 2023, Katie Huynh
For seven years, Cargill employees have hosted students from Harvest Best Academy at their corporate campus as part of BBBS’s Beyond School Walls (BSW) volunteering program. Company employees are paired with students in a one-to-one mentoring relationship that takes place either at the volunteer’s workplace or at the school. Often one of the biggest barriers to volunteering is finding time in a busy work schedule. The BSW Program eases this challenge by bringing matches together at a consistent time and place throughout the school year to explore fun and educational activities facilitated by BBBS staff.
After a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic, student participation in the Cargill program this year was down significantly. In an effort to reinvigorate youth participation, BBBS solicited feedback directly from the students themselves as to what they wanted to see in the program.
Students created a list of agreements for how they want to spend time with their mentor, such as being kind, investing in each other, and respecting each other’s personal space. Students shared via survey what activities they would like to do with their mentors.
Students also worked with their mentors to set goals for themselves. Goals ranged from staying on the honor roll, improving to a new reading level, scoring more points in basketball games, and being more organized. “The diversity of student’s goals shows how mentoring impacts each participant in different ways,” said Stephen Eskro, BBBS Educational Programs Coordinator. “When students had more voice in determining what the program looks like, their interest in the program increased as well.
Cargill’s BSW program has rebounded to nearly pre-pandemic numbers, with 21 matches participating this year. Feedback from both mentors and students has been positive. Yonis, a new BSW participant, describes his mentor, Xiaowen, as nice and funny. “She tells me jokes and talks about growing up in China, which I really appreciate.” Together, mentors and students are learning, growing, and having fun in a mutually rewarding relationship.
Interested in getting your company involved with our Beyond School Walls program? Contact Stephen Eskro, Educational Programs Coordinator, at seskro@bigstwincities.org to get started.
