Stacy Barnett, Family and Consumer Sciences teacher at FHS, has been the spear head of the mentor program for the past six years.
Students in the Family and Community Service (Mentor 1) and Counseling and Mental Health (Mentor 2) courses work with mentees at all elementary and middle school campuses across the District, but Barnett said her mission is to engage with the community as much as possible.
This year, Barnett’s students created Christmas cards to be delivered to Crown Point Nursing and Rehabilitation Center of Lubbock.
“We haven't done cards for Crown Point specifically in the past,” Barnett said, “but a few years ago some of my mentors went and visited with the residents, did hair and nails, and played games with them.”
Barnett said she thinks it is so important for her students to look outside themselves and discover where they can make an impact in their community.
“I'm always on the lookout for little ways the mentors can get involved with the community,” Barnett said. “The actual title of our Mentor 1 course is Family and Community Services; therefore, our purpose is to serve others. Most of that service is through the work that the mentors do on the elementary and middle school campuses as mentors, but it is nice to be able to help in other ways too.”
Barnett explained that she and her students always search for ways to spread cheer during the holiday season, and throughout the year, as part of their community outreach mission.
“During the shutdown a couple of years ago we made digital cards for the residents of the assisted living center in Wolfforth,” Barnett said. “I printed those out and delivered them to the center. Past mentor classes have made Christmas cards for the ‘Stockings Project’ which sends stockings and Christmas cards to troops overseas.”
Barnett’s students also kept a yearly tradition going by creating stockings for their assigned mentees.
“This is a voluntary activity for mentors who want to participate because it involves them spending their own money,” Barnett said. “Our department does not have the money to buy the stockings or the items, but a large percentage of mentors want to give something to their students for Christmas. Mentors who chose to participate bought stockings for their mentees and filled them with candy, pencils, stickers, and little toys. Some classes pooled their resources and all brought things to share, while a couple of classes put the stockings together individually.”
Barnett said she believes that acts of service and kindness like these are what being a Frenship Tiger is all about.
“Young people who are service minded become adults who are service minded, and our world can definitely use more people who step outside of their comfort zones to make a difference,” Barnett said. “We often don't realize the impact small acts of kindness can have on others, and I tell my students all the time that they are making a difference even when they don't see it. Frenship High School's mentor students are the embodiment of the SERVE model. Their goal is to make a difference in the lives of others every day.”