Thinking she

didn't have time for one more thing on her plate, Janice didn't think

the mentoring program needed her help. But her daughter did.

Janice remembers,

"A few weeks later, I received a letter, stating that I needed to

attend a luncheon. I didn't know what the luncheon was about, so I called

the school." And that's when she found out that Ja'Sharee had volunteered

her name.

With the help

of her director and Human Resources, Janice was able to fulfill the mentoring

program requirement of spending time with her "mentee" each

week. Her "mentee" had a truancy record and was having behavioral

problems in school.

"The first

thing we did together was set some goals for her. I made it really simple.

If her goals weren't being met, I could not come to see her," Janice

explained.

Goals included

improving her attendance record, maintaining her grade point average,

respecting her teachers and asking for the teacher's help when she had

conflicts with other students.

"I wasn't

sure if I was making a difference at first," Janice said. "But

I kept getting feedback from the teachers who had noticed a change in

her. Sometimes we had setbacks. But we just continued to work to get past

them." Pretty soon, even the principal noticed the improvement.

Ja'Sharee never

showed signs of jealousy and was always looking out for her mom's new

friend. "Whenever Ja'Sharee and I were shopping, she would always

see something nice and say, 'Mom, you should get that for your mentee!'"

At the end

of the school year, the school held a special presentation for parents

and other citizens in the community who help out. Janice's student spoke

about her friendship with Janice and thanked her for being a good friend.

"Well,

I didn't know she was going to speak and I just cried through the whole

thing," she said.

Janice was

presented with a certificate of appreciation, a gift bag, pin and a plaque

that proclaimed her the "Mentor of the Year."

According to

school officials, because of Janice's "moment" with her student

at the presentation, other parents have signed up for next year's mentoring

program.

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