Akela’s Fundraiser for Mentor North

My appreciation for mentoring relationships began in 4th grade when I saw the impact this program had on both my 4th grade bestie and her adult mentor. The friend I'm speaking about is now in her late 20's, lives across the country, and still has a solid relationship with her mentor from all those years ago. 

Now, I get to enjoy this life myself! I've been a mentor since 2017 and have served on the Board of Directors since 2018. My mentee bestie and I do so much together: from learning to air up car tires, to cooking meals, to taking road trips and everything in between. Our relationship has brought incredible value to my life and hopefully it's done the same for her. 

When I talk about the work of Mentor North, I emphasize that these relationships are not to "save" our youth but are to empower our youth to be their authentic selves. Sure, we have  whole lot of fun along the way but through healthy mentoring relationships, our youth can gain tools to feel confident contributing to society the best way they can: by being themselves. That's what I love about 1:1 mentoring.

Pictured: us enjoying a sailboat ride on Lake Superior.

For the 2023 Give to the Max campaign, Mentor North is aiming to raise $8,000.  With your recurring or one-time donation, Mentor North will work to ensure that every local youth has opportunities to gain life skills, try new things, develop meaningful interests and engage with their community through 1 on 1 mentorships. Mentoring, at its core, guarantees young people that someone cares about them, assures them they are not alone in dealing with day-to-day challenges, and makes them feel like they matter.  Being in a mentoring relationship builds social connection, improved self worth, confidence, mental and physical well-being for mentors and youth alike. 

Resilience Builders - Please consider becoming one of our Resilience Builder by choosing an automated monthly donation!  This will enable your partnership with Mentor North to benefit youth, families and community year round.  We also welcome one-time donations - every donation helps us create positive change.