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Originally Posted by spd2918
I am thinking of starting a nonprofit organization to mentor high school students in the area. The goal would be providing students with life skills, confidence, and direct jobs skills. I am seeking input from villagers and gauging volunteer availability.
In Superior WI I created and ran a nonprofit called Spartan Hot Rod (the high school mascott was a Spartan). We saw a need for young people to learn a craft and work on a team. Each year we provided a small group of kids a motorcycle or car project. They worked with adults in the industry to repair and restore it. We auctioned the vehicle at our own spring car show and that funded the next year's build. It was fun for the adults and I hope it made a difference in the kids' lives.
(Photos on the Facebook page "Spartan Hot Rod")
This program was open to any interested student. Some students went on to work in the trades. Some went to college. All left with more confidence and something to talk about at a job interview. The number one thing employers are looking for is a person's abilityto work on a team. We eventually were able to offer a small grant towards trade school tuition.
I am seeking to guage interest in starting such a program here. I see many small area schools that would benefit and each school could have its own program. We could have a spring show where the projects would be auctioned.
There are many small volunteer opportunities for car crazy villagers like project management, parts/ vehicle acquisition, transportation, advice, etc. Non-car person help could include public speaking, accounting, legal advice, fundraising, etc.
If there is sufficient interest i can host a public meeting to further explain the idea.
Any thoughts?
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I applaud your idea and past success! Mentoring is definitely a positive factor needed in many young peoples lives.
I can’t tell a spark plug from a hair plug but mentoring on leadership, ethics, public speaking, teamwork, and other business skills is of interest to me. Maybe I could pick up some car knowledge in the process!