The non-profit student mentorship program Tennessee Achieves needs volunteer mentors in the Upper Cumberland urgently.
tnAchieves Vice President Tyler Ford said the program works with high school seniors and college students to support and help them successfully navigate the path to post-secondary school opportunities. Ford said for most students, navigating the path can be confusing.
“Offering scholarship support like the Tennessee Promise is a huge burden lifted for a student,” Ford said. “But it also remains true that you need a little bit of extra help. You need a community champion in your corner to help navigate these critical steps properly.”
Ford said volunteer mentors will connect with students bi-weekly and help them through things like filling out the FAFSA and signing up for classes. Ford said there are still several counties throughout the Upper Cumberland that urgently need volunteers.
“Fentress County still has a need for volunteers, Macon County, Overton County, Pickett County, Putnam, and Smith all have outstanding needs still for volunteers,” Ford said. “So if you are in one of those communities and you have an hour per month, then a great time to visit our website, get registered, and support a small handful of students during these critical moments in life.”
Though it is volunteer work, Ford said becoming a volunteer mentor is very beneficial. Ford said volunteering gives people the opportunity to support a young student in their community.
“I think the pinnacle, the best part of Tennessee Achieves mentoring, is that you are getting to connect with a student who, in January when you start with them, might still be a little bit lost in this process, might still be pretty confused on what comes next for them, and you are getting to say alright, over these next ten months I’m gonna take this student that here is a little bit lost but come September, has found their way, has found their fit, and is well on their way to realizing their full potential at technical school, community college, or four-year institution,” Ford said. “And that moment, that payoff is really significant for a volunteer mentor, for the student, for their family, and for the community as a whole.”
Ford said the deadline to apply to become a volunteer mentor is Friday. Ford said the best way to apply is online at tnachieves.org.