For Kaye George, the chance to mentor students through Kids Hope USA fulfills a deep longing in her heart. She always wanted a family of her own and did not let her disappointment stop her from reaching out to volunteer in the Sunday school class at her church where she wrote and helped out with musicals.
Despite all the heart and passion she put into volunteering at her church, she was looking for a more direct and personal way to connect and help. When Kaye first heard about Kids Hope USA she immediately felt sparked to get involved.
Kaye began mentoring a second grader who had an amazing ability to design and draw detailed pictures on an etch-a-sketch, but struggled with counting and basic pronunciation. To help teach counting, she created a game with dice, pennies, and an egg carton. He loved the game so much and began having fun learning to count.
Each week they kept the pennies in a plastic water bottle. Right before Christmas break began Kaye gave him the bottle of coins to keep, but he wanted to donate all the coins he won to help homeless people. It was such a gift to see the generosity bubble up in his heart.
In the last year Kaye started mentoring a fourth grader named Tia. At the end of their time together each week she thought about how much she enjoyed the mentorship time and loved the friendship they were building.
Kaye began to write lyrics to a song about how unique and special Tia is. She shared the words with Tia on a notecard and was amazed by her perseverance to read all the words despite struggling with dyslexia. After writing the lyrics Kaye wrote a melody and then sang the song to Tia as well as her Kids Hope director. She also had the opportunity to sing at her church which inspired someone to sign up as a mentor.
Since then Kaye sang the song at the regional conference of Kids Hope directors who plan to use it at upcoming recruitment events. It’s so awesome to see how much mentors are impacted by their students in such creative ways!
