Cortland Community Mentors

01/27/2016

With our already busy lives, one unfortunate casualty of hectic schedules is that families are having an even harder time getting around the dinner table to enj...

01/25/2016

We are still working on our campaign!

1. Cook a nutritious meal together. Kids love to help out and at home they may not have the resources to eat healthy meals. 20% of our local youth are obese. ...

01/12/2016

You have what it takes to become a mentor!

Are you compassionate, trustworthy and able to be a friend to a young person? Would you be a good role model, a confidant and a nurturer of possibilities? ...

11/05/2015

Come with your family and get your game on! Family Matters presents a family fun-filled night that includes dinner, interactive family board games, and card games. Family Game Night will be held on November 19 from 5:30-7pm at the Cortland … Continued

11/02/2015

Michael Goodhope, Senior Program Manager at Kids-Helping-Kids program, Health People

“I’ve been at Health People for 14 years. I was doing casework for women and men with AIDS before that, and I was good at it: working with and for people. I just had the urge to give back, and the heart to help. My last name says it all! Becoming involved in this field has saved my life. It’s opened so many doors for me to do things for the community. Kids keep me young, I get opportunities to do things and help people – it’s been phenomenal.

I think the most fun part about being a mentor is being able to be there for your mentee. You get a sense of need and bond with another person and that gives you a sense of responsibility, and that turns into them growing and becoming adults and I can see that. And when the mentee sees how much this person is putting into the relationship, they grow. It’s Kids-Helping-Kids, that’s the name of the program. They keep coming back, mentees become mentors, they bring friends, cousins -- They love love love it.”

Health People’s Kids-Helping-Kids peer-to-peer mentoring program supports two groups of at-risk youth. It connects teen mentors—who have overcome the death, illness or absence of parents due to HIV/AIDS, substance abuse or chronic illness—to younger children who are experiencing similar problems. The year-round program helps kids cope successfully with these issues and encourages mentees to grow and become mentors. Kids-Helping-Kids fosters social and emotional learning; participants help each other to be drug-free, maintain healthy lives, stay in school and look to the future – no matter what challenges they face today. You can check them out here: www.healthpeople.org

07/15/2015

Come out and enjoy tonight's smoke free movie!

This week's Movie Under the Stars is: Paul Blart, Mall Cop 2. The movie starts at dusk at Court House Park on Wednesday, July 15.

05/21/2015

Access to Independence will hold two sets of focus groups for youth and their parents. We want to learn more about services to help youth and young adults plan and reach their goals for life after high school. Do you want to continue your education? Do you want training and opportunities for a job? Do you want more information on how to help your son or daughter with their goals? We’d like to know what services you have, and what services you need, so we can help to improve youth transition services and supports in Cortland County.

Interested youth and parents should contact Aaron T. Baier at ATI, 607-753-7363, by Friday, May 29 to Register.
You only need to register for ONE of the following dates.

Focus Group 1: Wednesday, June 3, from 6:30 – 8:00 pm
Focus Group 2: Saturday, June 6, from 12:00 – 1:30 pm

All participants will receive a $10 Amazon Gift Card as a token of our appreciation!

Please post and share with your networks.

05/11/2015