ReEmployAbility continues to encourage our team members to participate in our company-sponsored volunteer program. Service is a big part of our Transition2Work program and it is important to our leadership team that our hardworking staff have the opportunity to pursue their own volunteer initiatives. This past month, Accounts Receivable Associate Alex Figueroa, arranged with Grow Into You Foundation to provide assistance to its patrons in need once again. Alex started at ReEmployAbility as an intern with the Accounting department, eventually rising to a full-time position in his current role. Having a close personal relationship with Grow Into You Foundation, Alex is a frequent visitor and mentor of the nonprofit.
Grow Into You Foundation’s mission “exists to provide coaching, mentoring, support, and resources to individuals experiencing hardship, particularly those within and aging out of the foster care system. These services will shift perspectives, restore power, and plant hope in those that need it most.” Alex resonates with the nonprofit’s mission, stating, “The mission is significant to me because I am still a participant in the foundation. To this day I can schedule coaching/mentoring sessions and ask for assistance when I need it.” With two homes for young men and women, this organization provides resources such as life coaching and mentoring to young adults as they pursue education, employment, health, and stability. For those who have aged out of foster care and need more support as they go into adulthood, Grow Into You Foundation is available to assist these individuals in becoming more self-sufficient. As a former participant in the foundation’s programs, Alex is a prime example of the great work the organization does for its patrons. He states, “Grow Into You has impacted my life to the point where I can be a self-sufficient adult and provide for the people closest to me.”
Growing Through Mentorship
While volunteering, some of Alex’s primary duties consisted of describing his own personal lived experiences in the child welfare system to the foundation’s board, which uses feedback like this to deliberate and make decisions on what the foundation should focus on for the year. After spending the morning with the board, Alex was part of a training session where he assisted in teaching a class of participants in the program about self-care. The class consisted of three stations: mini yoga, a workshop on the importance of creating a healthy schedule for yourself, and a gratitude station where the participants wrote letters of encouragement to their future selves and to someone who positively impacted their lives. The workshops Alex helped in leading are some of the great events and experiences Grow Into You provides to its residents. The nonprofit continually works to raise funds to cover the costs of coaching for its teens.
If you would like to make a donation to this nonprofit visit www.growintoyoufoundation.org/donate
Grow Into You Foundation is in need of mentors who are willing to coach and be there for the young adults that are in need. Register for volunteer mentor training to be approved to work with the teens. Prospective volunteers can expect to meet with the executive director and receive training from her once approved. This will consist of learning how to deal with others’ trauma and how to approach issues that may be brought up to mentors. A mentor will get paired with a young adult and from there they begin a mentor/mentee relationship.
Want to become a mentor at Grow Into You Foundation? Follow the link >>>
Learn more about Grow Into You Foundation and what they do for the community they serve
