Helping our Latino youth

It was a good feeling this week to be part of a networking event held to spread the word about the mission and vision of Big Brothers Big Sisters, a nonprofit organization that seeks to match caring adult mentors with children and teenagers who could use some encouragement, stability and friendship in their lives.

The event was a cocktail party at Living Room Theaters, with donated drinks and food, and featuring Oregon schools superintendent Susan Castillo, the only statewide elected official who is of Latino/a heritage.

My guesstimate is that something like 50 people showed up for this after-work function on Wednesday to mingle and hear Susan and other speakers from BBBS talk about the research-proven positive impacts that our mentoring programs have on young people. Susan talked about the one powerful message she received from a supervisor years ago when she was in a clerical job at Oregon State University, long before she became involved in politics. And that message was encouragement: the simple thought that a person she respected thought she, Susan, was capable of much more if she applied herself. Sure enough, she got her degree, went to work in broadcast journalism and eventually served in the state Legislature before running, successfully, for state schools superintendent.

The equally simple message from Lynn Thompson, CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters, was that we need two things to expand our reach into Oregon's growing Latino community: money and volunteers.

My role? As a member of BBBS' Latino Mentoring Advisory Council, I'm one of several professionals who offer feedback, suggestions, community connections, etc., to the professional staff. I helped publicize the event and made the initial connection with Supt. Castillo, since I've known her from my reporting days in Salem. Then, on Wednesday, I filled in on short notice for a fellow council member who had last-minute conflict by introducing Susan and later saying a few words about the program's effectiveness.

It felt good to look around the room and see a lot of people who attended because of my invitations, but it felt even better to help in a tangible way with the program.

Next up: The annual fall breakfast, Nov. 17, at the Portland Hilton. Click here for more details: http://www.bbbsnorthwest.org/