Last Saturday (October 23), The Mentoring Partnership of New York (MPNY) hosted the 11th Annual Mentoring Symposium in Manhattan., Ee lin See, Ai lin See, and Jenny Gu represented Chumz Corp. There were many interesting workshops for mentors, mentees, parents and program coordinators from New York City’s mentoring community. Topics included job skills, college applications, gang awareness, teambuilding, self-esteem, improving study habits, entrepreneurship, developing leadership skills, and running a quality mentoring program.

At the “Girls Are Special…No Doubt About That” workshop, teenage girls, who were the main participants of the workshop, shared about the pressures they faced, especially low self-esteem because of the images portrayed by the media. They also shared that many of their peers are turning to sex, dating, drugs and alcohol because of peer pressure and lack of adult role models in their lives. The workshop facilitator, Rodeena Stephens, Manager of MPNY’s Faith-Based Mentoring Services, was very supportive and affirming. She encouraged the girls to know their worth, to have the confidence to say no, to understand the consequences of their actions, and to realize that beauty is internal as much as external. The workshop really reminded us of the importance for a teen to have a mentor who can not only be a good role model, but also encourage and build up the teen’s confidence. Otherwise, teens may fall into destructive lifestyles.

We left with a renewed sense of purpose and passion to start our program and connect younger teens with a caring older teen mentor. Donna Smith and the rest of the staff at MPNY are awesome! We look forward to having more Chumz attendees next year!

close window