Marco Perez and his mother Sierra Perez, participants of Garden Pathways’ mentoring program, received a turkey for Thanksgiving from Grimmway Farms. Photo by Tamira Lopez, Garden Pathways

Katerina Bond and Jennifer Nolen of the Society for Human Resource Management pose with gently used business clothing donated by their organization’s members for Garden Pathways participants to wear as they enter the workforce. Photo by Tamira Lopez, Garden Pathways

Sandra Sanchez and her sister, participants at Garden Pathways, received Thanksgiving groceries from The Industrial Company. Photo by Tamira Lopez, Garden Pathways

TIC employees Kimberly Kom, human resources training manager, and Kellie Lonas, regional hiring coordinator, deliver boxes of Thanksgiving groceries to a family in Garden Pathways’ Family to Family Mentoring program. Photo courtesy of Garden Pathways

By Karen Goh, Garden Pathways

The generosity of the Kern County community is bringing joy and provisions to families in need at Garden Pathways.

Nine families enjoyed bountiful Thanksgiving feasts provided by TIC (The Industrial Company). TIC employees personally delivered boxes of food to participants of Garden Pathways’ Family to Family Mentoring program. Families expressed their elation that they would have food this year. A mother, whose son recently had been hit by a car, did not expect to be able to provide a Thanksgiving meal for her family. She was thrilled that people in the community cared and made it possible for her to feed her five children on Thanksgiving.

Grimmway Farms blessed 35 families in Garden Pathways’ mentoring and education programs with Thanksgiving turkeys. Their act of kindness answered the prayers of a woman who moments before she received her gift from Grimmway had prayed that “God would provide a turkey” so she could invite people in her neighborhood who had nowhere to enjoy a Thanksgiving meal.

On December 2, The Society for Human Resource Management presented Garden Pathways with clothing for participants of the Family to Family Mentoring program. Members donated their gently-used business clothing to assist program participants as they enter the workforce and transition to self-sufficiency. Katerina Bond, past president of the Kern County chapter of SHRM, coordinated the organization’s annual clothing drive. Bond, a human resource specialist at Chevron, contacted Garden Pathways at the suggestion of Chevron colleague, Ede Pacaldo.

In October, Pacaldo had spearheaded an initiative among employees at Chevron’s Kern River site to donate funds to Garden Pathways. Chevron employees contributed more than $6,300 toward the purchase of Christmas gifts for clients of Garden Pathways programs. The generosity of Chevron employees soon will brighten the holidays for families who otherwise would be unable to fulfill their children’s Christmas wishes.

Garden Pathways, a community-based nonprofit, changes lives from the inside out through hope and relationship. A provider of comprehensive mentoring services for all ages, Garden Pathways offers mentoring, training, and education in the arts and the art of living. The programs of Garden Pathways include: Family to Family Mentoring, The Garden Christian Preschool, E3 Performing Arts, and The Gate. They provide a wide range of mentoring and education services to the Kern County community. Diverse mentoring initiatives, based on long-term relationships, encourage and equip children, youth, and adults to realize their potential and build productive lives.

HOW TO HELP

You can become a mentor or volunteer through Garden Pathways to help your community in the following ways:

• Attend a training to become a mentor and be willing to commit one hour a week of your time for one year to mentor at-risk youth or adults one-on-one, as a group, or as part of a team.
• Commit to becoming a “mentoring consultant” to train or support mentoring participants or mentors in your field of expertise.
• Volunteer your services in your area of expertise (such as marketing, technology, construction, education).
• Assist the mentor coordinator in recruiting, training, and supporting mentors.
• Mentor a youth in the arts.
• Teach art, music, dance, or drama to preschool or elementary school children.
• Tutor at-risk youth or adults in reading.
• Read to preschool children.
• Sponsor a mentoring event or enrichment experience for at-risk youth.
• Donate financially to support mentoring and education.

For information on how to get involved, contact Karen Goh, executive director of Garden Pathways, at 633-9133. Learn more at www.gardenpathways.org or www.facebook.com/gardenpathways.