Sam Smith of Shelburne takes in a Lake Monsters game with his mentee Cole.

On Wednesday, Aug. 17, the Vermont Lake Monsters hosted Mobius and local mentor pairs at Centennial Field in Burlington. Nearly 50 mentors and mentees were treated to free admission and an exciting evening of baseball.

Shelburne resident Sam Smith, a mentor through Spectrum, found the mentoring night at the ballpark to be a fun and easy activity to share with his mentee Cole. "We had a great time at the game!" said Smith.  "What a perfect night to be at a baseball game.  It was a great opportunity to get out and do something together that we would not have otherwise done on our own."

In addition to the free tickets for mentor pairs, Mobius was also the beneficiary of a 50/50 raffle, and used this opportunity to educate fans in attendance about local mentoring need. Mentees also enjoyed meeting and posing with the Lake Monsters' mascot, Champ.

Spectrum Mentoring is a community-based mentoring program run by Spectrum Youth and Family Services that matches Burlington-area teens with caring, responsible adult volunteers. Spectrum's mission is to work together with youth and families to strengthen their abilities to live successfully in the community. 

Mobius is a local affiliate of the National Mentoring Partnership (MENTOR). It recruits and trains mentors for young people, and provides support for 13 youth mentoring programs in Chittenden County. To learn more about how to become a mentor or support the local mentoring movement, call Marissa Wilkens at 658-1888 or visit www.mobiusmentors.org.