Coloring Hope In Mentorship: Summer Rainbow Vision

As spring morphs to summer in Pendleton this year, perhaps we all feel a bit closer to Noah and company as we search for the hope made symbol by the advent of the rainbow (see Genesis 9:13-16). We have been through struggles that mimic a rainbow genesis...at once rain and sun burst our horizons with a brilliant and temporal sign. As Impact Pendleton persists in providing mentoring for the summer, a more mundane source of color comes our way through programs like the summer reading program at the Pendleton Public Library: “Reading Colors Your World.” Color-themed reading logs feature individual entries for the hope of a prize drawing and free books for younger students. See summer reading : https://pendleton.or.us/library/page/summer-reading-program-2021

The connection between color and hope suits us well as a driver for learning. The clever display curated at the library entrance suggests a way to realize the summer goals...a great example of the value of modeling to achieve a desired outcome. Another way to load your reading shelf this summer (or to help a mentee do so!) is by a visit to the Pendleton Book Co. Owner Debbie Kerby has made reading accessible to everyone with a generous book exchange policy. If you are like me and prefer to own your books and such, it is worth checking out as well as the super discount third Saturday deals. A careful customer can send their mentee home with fun items for under a dollar!  Not needing to fuss over return dates and the condition of a book can do loads for motivating us all! 
 
In the bigger picture and as a symbol of promise, rainbow vision takes on a double meaning in the post of writer Anne-Lise Vray, a juvenile justice fellow with the Campaign for Youth Justice. This group deals with the loss of the promise of youth for children who have become incarcerated. Mentorship stands in this gap where there is a loss of hope, as we will see in a later post. Because June is Children's Awareness month, I propose being aware of the struggles she describes. A  child’s rainbow sketch is the image that prompts her writing on the devastation of youth behind bars:
 http://www.campaignforyouthjustice.org/across-the-country/item/june-is-children-s-awareness-month
 In mentorship, we are at once unified and driven by the rainbow of hope, and need only respond as agents of renewal as we model the rainbow promise we were gifted.

Learn More: (Visit Pendleton Book Co here: )
https://www.facebook.com/Pendleton-Book-Company-297520400302736/  
Summer Motivation Podcast:
https://educationnorthwest.org/sites/default/files/summer-bridge-activities-podcast.mp3
-Suzanne Church, AmeriCorps VISTA Mentor Coordinator
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