10/01/2026
Earlier this month, during a mentor training in South Georgia with partner program Statesboro Village Builders, we had the opportunity to hear from several young people who have helped build the program now launching to serve them and their peers. These young people are already lending their voices to their city government as members of the Statesboro Youth Council, an inspiring example youth voice in programming and decision-making.
What made this month’s training really special is that these young people were addressing the inaugural group of mentors participating in an after-school program. The program is spearheaded by Statesboro Village Builders, hosted at local partner church Statesboro First Baptist, and supported, in part, with funding from the United Way of Southeast Georgia. After several years of training, consulting, and advisement by MENTOR Florida | Georgia to Statesboro Village Builders, our role at the training was to prepare the incoming mentors to support their mentees through developmentally-appropriate, youth-driven strategies. It’s the young people’s words that will stick with all of us, though.
With permission from her guardian and from this young person herself, we’re sharing the full statement of Ce’Niyah Robinson, an 8th-grader, who addressed the volunteers at the training. It deserves to be shared in full, because it’s one of the clearest, most compelling calls to action for the volunteers who were present – and for anyone else out there on the fence about volunteering as a mentor.
In Ce’Niyah’s words:
“I have my Youth Council family, and many of us have families, teachers, coaches, church members, and other adults who support us. And even with all of that support, I still need mentorship.”
“I still need someone who can help me see things I cannot see yet. Someone who can introduce me to opportunities I do not know exist. Someone who will listen when I am trying to figure life out. Someone who will challenge me when I am capable of more. Someone who will remind me of who I am when I begin to doubt myself. But I also know that my story is not every young person’s story. There are young people in our community who do not have a Youth Council family.”
“Some do not have a strong support system at home.
“Some do not have a trusted adult they can call.
“Some have never had anyone ask them, ‘What do you want to become?’
“Some have dreams but no idea how to reach them.
“Some have gifts they have never been taught to recognize.
“Some are making major decisions with very little guidance.
“And some do not even know that what they are missing is a mentor.
“They may not know who they need.
“They may not know what they need.
“They may simply know that they need someone.
“Someone to show up.
“Someone to listen.
“Someone to expose them to something different.
“Someone to hold them accountable.
“Someone to tell them the truth. Someone to celebrate their progress. Someone who sees more in them than what they may see in themselves right now.”
