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"Everyday Human Light"  

by Jennifer Warren

Sometimes it's the little things. 

Our children don't always need amusement parks, fancy clothing or or expressions of extravagance from us. Sometimes they just need the little things. 

*Being greeted by name with a big smile when you see them. 

*The gift of a blanket from a generous donor as a source of comfort after the storm.

*Reassurance from their peers that it's ok to mess up when they're playing a game.

*A mentor creating a Shutterfly photo book for their mentee as a reflection of memories shared and the ways they have grown as a result of their time together.

All these moments and so many more were shared at WYN over the past months. These moments are knit together to form trust over time and they represent all of the ways the we can be kind to one another, even though what's more often highlighted today is all of the ways we can be cruel to one another. 

An essay within Ross Gay's book, The Book of Delights, titled, "To spread the Sweetness of Love" captures this concept beautifully. In this essay, Gay writes about a moment he observed a simple act of love in an airport: 

"As I was climbing some steps I noticed four women, uniformed, maybe kiosk workers, on their break, chatting and relaxing. They looked to me like they were probably East African, and one of them, maybe in her thirties, was gently arranging an older.....woman's collar beneath her sweater, freeing it from the cardigan's neck, using both of her hands to jostle it free but also seeming to spend a little more time than necessary, creasing the fold of the collar, the other hand kind of resting on her shoulder, the two of them chatting the whole time, sitting there holding each other, nodding, my head twisting toward them like a sunflower as I finished the stairs and walked by, so in love was I with this common flourish of love, this everyday human light."  

As we close January, National Mentoring month, I hope you will enjoy reading the stories that follow. They are stories of how sharing everyday human light not only creates something beautiful but also changes lives. 

Celebrating a Milestone

We are so proud to announce that former WYN student, Alonha K. graduated from AppState last December! 

Regarding this accomplishment Alonha said:  "It feels amazing to have graduated and gotten my dream teaching job. All of the hard work was worth it and I feel incredibly blessed. I couldn’t have done it without you [Angela McMann in WYN's Mentoring Program] and WYN supporting me throughout my educational journey, from elementary to college. You and WYN have truly gone above and beyond to help make this possible."

State Recognition for a Long-Time WYN Mentor

Kevin Patterson has been a mentor to Kody since November 2013.

In that time, Kevin has logged over 1,030 hours of time with Kody as a mentor with WYN.

Kevin has been a constant in the life of this remarkable young man and he has been there for him through many hard things. 

Kevin provides a space for Kody to fully be himself and the two of them have grown together as Kevin has evolved his mentoring style to fit the developmental stage that Kody is in. He has also helped Kody to identify passions and things he might want to pursue as careers, which has gone from a comedian to a lawyer to a radio DJ. 

The pair has enjoyed numerous adventures together over the years including:

Kevin's impact on Kody has been immeasurable. He has shown compassion and consistency to Kody for the past 11 years, bringing him in as a part of his family for holidays and making him feel like a big brother when Kevin and his wife had their first, and later, second child. He has maintained that the sky is the limit for Kody as long as he is brave enough to keep showing up and giving his best.

Kody even got to experience a trip to the beach in 2019 and Kevin said that Kody "got to do all the good beach stuff like go fishing and not catch anything (seems like all I did as a kid), get buried up to his neck in the sand, swim in the ocean for so long that your skin starts to burn from the chafing, mini golf, go karts, pier arcade, walk out on the pier, etc."

When things get hard in Kody's life, Kevin is always there with his hand held out to keep pulling Kody back up out of the muck and reminding him how brilliant and capable he is.

We have watched many matches change lives over the past 40 years, however Kevin and Kody's match has been the most pivotal match we have ever witnessed. 

This past week we were thrilled when Kevin won the Youth Mentor of the Year award from the Youth Mentoring Collaborative and was presented this award at the Governor's Mansion in Raleigh, NC. Congratulations, Kevin, and thank you for the lifetime of impact you have made! 

Who Mentored You?  

In this month in which we celebrate and honor mentors, we invite you to consider becoming a sustaining monthly donor in honor of your mentor(s).

Click below to make it happen!  

What did you think? 

What did you think of this month's newsletter? If you had questions or thoughts, please reply and let us hear them!

We love hearing from you! 

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