PRESQUE ISLE — This year’s barbecue for the Central Aroostook Mentoring Program was held Aug. 10 at Mantle Lake Park.
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Mentees and mentors learn about healthy food choices during the Central Aroostook Mentoring Program’s annual barbecue held Aug. 10 at Mantle Lake Park in Presque Isle.
Twenty four mentors, mentees and guests enjoyed races, hikes and great food, provided by an ACAP healthy foods grant. Rick Wasson, a parent, tended the grills and served hot dogs, all-beef hamburgers and chicken tenders to go along with fruit and salad. Charlotte Wilson of the University of Maine Cooperative Extension Service conducted a nutrition lesson for those attending.
CAMP is currently trying to serve 169 children in the central Aroostook area by providing one-on-one volunteer adult mentors for each child. There are no special qualifications to be a mentor, just the willingness to share three to five hours a week for one year with a child doing activities you normally do and enjoy. Each mentor must pass a complete background check which includes fingerprinting for the SafetyNet Program, DHHS approval, Maine Department of Motor Vehicles Approval and five personal references. A home visit and CAMP training are also required. Monthly contact by phone with the Program Coordinator monitors the match relationship.
School-based programs in Caribou, Fort Fairfield and Presque Isle use the services of high school students as mentors for one hour, one day per week, following the school calendar. These programs are currently being set up for this year. Any high school student who would like to mentor an elementary or middle school-age child and earn community service hours should report to their guidance or main office for an application packet or call 764-4005.
Contributed photo
Mentor Ian Johns, left, leads a group of mentees in an old-fashioned sack race, which was part of the Central Aroostook Mentoring Program annual barbecue held Aug. 10.
Contributed photo
Charlotte Wilson of the University of Maine Cooperative Extension Service spoke with children about nutrition during the Central Aroostook Mentoring Program’s annual barbecue held Aug. 10 at Mantle Lake Park in Presque Isle. Twenty four mentors, mentees and guests attended the festivities, which included a lunch of grilled hot dogs and hamburgers, along with fruit and salad, as well as special games and activities. Anyone is welcome to be a mentor and spend three to five hours a week with a child, doing something both can enjoy.