Boys and Girls Club to offer mentoring program

BY LINDSAY J. JONES

Tue, May 13 2008

— Thanks to a recent $3,000 donation from Bright House Networks, the Wheeler-Dowe Boys and Girls Club in Indianapolis will soon be able to offer a new teen girl mentoring program.
The donation came after Bright House employee Kimy Brown was honored with the company’s Crystal House Award, and given the opportunity to choose an area organization to donate the money to.
Brown has worked in human resources at Bright House for nearly 13 years, and attended the Wheeler-Dowe Boys and Girls Club herself as a child.
She said when she learned she would be able to choose an organization to receive the money, she immediately thought of the club, which she drives by each day going to work.
“It brought back memories, and I’ve always talked about wanting to do a mentoring program,” she said. “I’m really excited. I’ve just really put a lot of work and criteria into it, and expect it to be well-received by the community.”
Brown said she used to volunteer at School 51, and noticed there weren’t a lot of programs available exclusively to teen girls. Among other things, she wants the program to teach girls etiquette and give them a forum to talk about issues affecting them today.
“I want each girl to walk away from this program knowing how they should be using their resources, understanding that they have choices to empower themselves,” she said. “I want every girl to feel like ‘I am somebody.’”
Brown plans to volunteer her time heading up the mentoring program. For more information, call the Wheeler-Dowe Boys and Girls Club at 926-4222.
lindsay.jones@flyergroup.com

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