Former Campbell Judge Continues to Mentor NKY Youth

Mentoring Plus in Newport has Open House on 11/28

As Thanksgiving falls upon us, we should step back and consider all the things we are thankful for, and then think about what it would be like to not have those things. Think about not having an immediate family, or being raised in a family without one parent or both. Or raised by an alcoholic or a drug addict. Or by an abuser.

As a Family Court Judge, I thought about these things quite often since I presided over those kinds of cases. And when I retired, I decided what volunteer time I had to offer would be dedicated to a program designed to meet the needs of those children. Children designated as dependent, neglected or abused in the nomenclature of our Court system.

This is an advertisement. 

Mentoring Plus is a non-profit organization serving Northern Kentucky’s most disadvantaged teenagers between the ages of 13 and 18, providing a “life coach” (or mentor) to guide them 1:1 through a structured setting which includes a hot meal and professional program staff focusing on education, life skills, job skills, substance abuse, mental health and anger management counseling, and spirituality. The life coaches and staff at Mentoring Plus become the alternative family for most of these kids.

The goal of Mentoring Plus is to guide these teenagers and their families to become productive citizens in our community, thereby strengthening our community. This non-profit operates almost entirely on the generosity of the people of Northern Kentucky and Greater Cincinnati, with less than 20% of the budget coming from grants.

The folks at Mentoring Plus would like to personally show you their operation and the facility in which they work by offering an Open House on Tuesday, November 28, at their location at 8th and York Streets in Newport (behind the First Baptist Church, enter on 8th Street) from 4:30 to 7:30pm. YOU are cordially invited!

This is the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, which is also designated as Giving Tuesday, (as opposed to Black Friday and Cyber Monday). Please consider supporting this program and these kids, who are your less fortunate neighbors. And come on down to visit!

The teenagers will be there as well to walk you through their “home turf” and to show you around, and there will be games and raffle prizes and there’s a Silent Auction on-line for a weekend getaway at Rising Star Casino or a beautiful cabin in the Blue Ridge Mountains. You can call 859-982-5895 or go to mentoringplus.org.

By Judge Michael "Mickey" Foellger