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They said it couldn't done. My colleagues at the program thought that I couldn't get a major endorsement
for the mentoring program I was developing but with a few phone calls and drawing from the expertise
that I gained from my mentors, I was able to inspire an extremely popular University of Wisconsin
athletic coach to see the value in supporting our efforts.
One of the projects I am most proud of is developing a mentoring component of Project Bootstrap.
Of course, at that time, Project Bootstrap was a well known after school program in Madison.
It served middle and high school students who would benefit from tutoring and goal setting.
My charge was to give some of these students an experience in a functional family
environment with two parents. It would be similar to a big brother/big sister program.
Kind of like a "big family" program.
Because of the major endorsement the program received, I hosted a press conference
during which the mayor, the county executive, the university coach, a Bootstrap leader and I presented information
to the community in order to gain support for the developing mentoring program.
Several local T.V., radio, and newspaper representatives were there to capture this newsworthy event.
My program was off to a great start.
The program development took longer than expected by the results were worth it.
Much time went in to creating a firm foundation for a sustainable program.
A complete needs analysis was crucial. Key stakeholders were identified.
Collaboration, consultation, and many follow up meetings were critical to
completing this developing holistic program with community support.