Jill Schramm/MDN Gene Yeater holds his Mentor of the Year award from Minot’s Companions for Children Friday, Jan. 9.

Gene Yeater’s positivity and willingness to go above and beyond caught the attention of Minot’s Companions for Children recently.

The Minot Air Force Base firefighter was named the organization’s Mentor of the Year for his mentorship of a middle school youth and his overall support for mentoring in the community.

“Gene is definitely someone who has supported us at our events. He brings mentoring to those events as well, and just kind of represents us as a whole for what we do,” said Kat Howard, community outreach manager at Companions for Children. “He’s very, very involved. And I think it just speaks for his care and mentoring by seeing how he shows up for his mentee. He plans a lot of different fun activities and keeps it engaging for his mentee, too. Those are just highlights that we look for when it comes to this award, just showing an above-and-beyond type of attitude toward mentoring.”

Yeater said the award was unexpected. He didn’t know he was in consideration for the annual honor until the organization handed him the award.

Yeater began volunteering with Companions for Children in November 2023. While working on his master’s degree, he took nonprofit leadership class in which he studied the leadership structure of Companions for Children. His interest in studying the organization came from his own positive experience as a young mentee with the Big Brothers program in California.

Upon completing his master’s, he signed up to volunteer with Companions for Children.

Yeater and his mentee share interests in a number of activities, including video games and sports. They engage in about three outings a month.

“We hang out. We play video games together. We go to the park. We’ll go to the arcade. We’ll watch movies together,” Yeater said. “We’ll spend a lot of time at the park, playing baseball, football. I have a whole bag full of sports equipment we’ll bring with us.”

Companions for Children also hosts a group event about once a month, such as an upcoming scavenger hunt, which Yeater and his mentee take part in.

Yeater has three children of his own, including one who is the same age as his mentee. He said it’s been helpful for him to see the similarities in what the two middle-school youth are going through as he helps them brainstorm solutions to problems they face.

Yeater said his relationship with his mentee has grown close over the past two years. They’ve become good friends who can talk about almost anything, he said. He would encourage others to consider becoming mentors for the opportunity to experience the satisfaction he has known.

“Part of it is getting to see the mentee grow and become a better person,” Yeater said. “I’ve seen him become a lot more confident.”

Minot’s Companions for Children has about 250 mentors across its five programs, Howard said. Some programs are school-based, such as Lunch Pals or Pen Pals. Another program is expected to begin soon that will be geared toward middle school girls.

Companions for Children will begin recruiting this week for an internship program through a partnership with Minot High’s Magic City Campus. Businesses willing to open their doors to high school seniors are invited to get involved. The fall semester each year features the World of Work Program, in which business people come into the classroom to engage with Minot High students.

But the largest program and the one in greatest need of additional mentors is the community-based program, in which Yeater participates. Men, in particular, are needed as mentors, Howard said. Mentees range in age from 6-18.

Companions for Children hosts a Mentor Mingle event each year to recognize the work of its volunteers. Mentors are encouraged to bring along a friend or family member who is interested in learning about possibly volunteering, Howard said. This year’s event will be May 7.

However, Howard added, “We are always recruiting for community-based (volunteers) at any time of the year.”

Yeater considers mentoring to be a valuable investment of time for anyone who enjoys being around children and youth.

“Getting to see your influence on the kids, I think, is probably the biggest benefit of it,” he said, “and getting to know that you’re really making a difference.”

January is National Mentoring Month

This month is National Mentoring Month, a designation that has been in place since 2002.

According to the nonprofit MENTOR, the organization and the Harvard T.H. School of Public Health launched National Mentoring Month to amplify, encourage and strengthen mentorship for young people. The goals of National Mentoring Month are to raise awareness of mentoring, recruit mentors and recruit organizations to engage their constituents in mentoring.

Within National Mentoring Month this year are: I am a Mentor Day, Jan. 6; International Mentoring Day, Jan. 17; Martin Luther King Jr. National Day of Service, Jan. 19; and Thank Your Mentor Day, Jan. 28.

– MDN STAFF