Local
Dane County club expands mentoring program to 80 middle schoolers
Boys & Girls Clubs of Dane County has expanded CHAMPS, a career and mentoring program for middle school students, after a 20-student summer pilot. The organization says it needs 65 more volunteer mentors to keep pace with enrollment.
Eighty students from Cherokee Heights and Ezekiel Gillespie middle schools are taking part in a new Boys & Girls Clubs of Dane County program designed to help pre-teens explore careers, build confidence and connect with adult mentors.
The program, called Careers, Habits and Mentoring Programs, or CHAMPS, launched this week at the organization’s Fitchburg facility. It is part of an effort to reach students before they enter high school, when they can begin exploring different paths and setting academic goals.
“Middle school is such a critical time” for students to gain experience and exposure, said Brendan Ortiz, the club’s program director of mentorships and careers, who oversees CHAMPS.
Students meet weekly as a group and, after completing the club’s mentor-matching process, are expected to meet with mentors every other week. Planned activities include workshops, guest speakers, community events and visits to workplaces.
The program grew out of a 12-week summer pilot that began in June with 20 middle schoolers. Participants visited PBS Wisconsin and PUBG Madison to learn about careers and try workplace activities. The club has since increased enrollment fourfold and extended the program to three times the pilot’s length, Ortiz said.
The club needs 65 additional volunteer mentors to match its current student enrollment. Ortiz said mentors would spend about an hour with students twice a month, offering encouragement and sharing their experiences. The program has also partnered with Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc. to connect students, many of whom are students of color, with adults who share their backgrounds.
CHAMPS was announced last December after John and Jo Ellen McKenzie, owners of Madison-based McKenzie Apartment Company, donated $200,000. The program is based at the McKenzie Regional Workforce Center, which offers trade-skills training, but CHAMPS is intended to introduce students to a broader range of careers and the habits that can help them succeed.
This school year, the program is adding creative arts activities through a partnership with Cue The 608, a local youth-development organization. Students are expected to visit Capital High School in mid-November for a concert and studio session with Cue The 608 artists.
Ortiz, who grew up in Madison and took part in Boys & Girls Clubs programs as a child, said he hopes the program will eventually expand to more schools and offer more opportunities for students and mentors. The club is seeking volunteers at bgcdc.org/champs.