When John Reardon was approached by his friend Patti Bennett,
executive director of Colorado Youth, about a grant that could help
rural teens in Elbert County, he was caught a little off guard.
Bennett told Reardon if Colorado Youth at Risk was awarded the
grant at least $75,000 would go to a mentoring program and she
wanted him to take on the project.
Soon after the meeting a few months ago, the grant was accepted
and Reardon made the decision to step up to the plate. He is now
the director of a new mentoring program in Elbert County called
Shazam Mentoring, an educational program that supports eighth-
through 10th-graders in their transition to and from high school.
The program provides opportunities to explore the unimagined
futures and a new sense of what is possible in life, according to
Reardon. Because of the grant money, which was awarded to Colorado
Youth at Risk from the Statewide Strategic Youth Fund, Reardon is
able to work with youth again which has always been a passion of
his.
Reardon developed the idea for Shazam Mentoring and said this
program is not like any other program in the county. He said even
though the grant is coming from Colorado Youth at Risk, which is
more of an intervention program, his program is not geared for
intervention. He calls his program an educational mentoring program
and said a huge window of opportunity has opened for the
county.
“I’m very excited because I have the enthusiasm and the energy
for this project,” he said. “And now we have the money and the
support of Colorado Youth at Risk which has been around since 1992
to really get something great going.”
After meeting with the Elbert School principal and
superintendent, Reardon’s program will begin working with the
eighth- and ninth-grade classes pairing 30 students each with a
personal mentor. He said he is starting with a smaller school at
the beginning, but hopes to expand to the other schools in the
county in the future.
His first mission is finding mentors willing to take the time to
make a difference in a teen’s life. A community leader meeting will
be from 6 to 8 p.m. on June 4 at Elbert School in Elbert for any
interested mentors or volunteers for the program. Reardon said this
program is an amazing chance for adults to truly change a child’s
life and give back to the community.
“In Shazam Mentoring a mentor gets to really be present to make
a difference in a profound way,” he said.
The mentors will be thoroughly trained before working with their
child. The training will prepare them for issues their child may
face and how to help them.
Reardon said the program will work to help students recognize
their dreams after high school and actually fulfill them.
“I want kids to realize that their life is a story and they are
co-creating it,” Reardon said. “The kids are the ones making up
their life and we help them figure out what story they want to
make.”
Reardon said as the program continues to grow, so will the
support and the funding from Colorado Youth at Risk. Support for
the kids will also continue after their time in Shazam Mentoring by
having the choice to participate in Reardon’s Right of Passage
program until graduation.
For more information, contact Reardon at 303-646-4321.
Shazam Mentoring program community leader meeting:
6-8 p.m. June 4 at Elbert School, 24489 Main St. in Elbert