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First Tee Mentoring Program

In our meeting on April 15, Dr. Swafford introduced us to a mentoring organization, First Tee that he has been working with for some time. First Tee is a program to mentor young people between the ages of 13 and 18 through a process of engaging them in golf. The young people come from all races, ethnic backgrounds and genders, and once they are in the program they are expected to stay until they age out. Joe gave us a very thorough and complete description of the program which is nationwide with chapters all over the country and even some in other countries, making it an international operation.

The PowerPoint presentation that he used in the meeting is available for download and review. He also made available a lesson plan he has prepared for one of his sessions as an example of how his sessions are planned and conducted. His presentation was excellent and a very thorough description of an outstanding and impressive mentoring program.

 Coach Joe, being from the Houston area, described specifically the characteristics of the Houston chapter, but there is also an active chapter in the Pasadena area which may be of interest to our community.

The program is well financed and structured. Golf is used as a vehicle for engaging and directing the interest for the young people. The goal isn’t to develop golfers, but to develop life skills. The mentors do not have to be great golfers, but would need some minimal skills and an interest in the game to provide the enthusiasm.

You can view a recording of Joe’s presentation through this link, First Tee Mentoring Program.

In May, our first Friday meeting will occur on May 6^th at 10AM. Our presentation will be a discussion of the historical issues that impact children of color in Early Childhood Education. Our presenters will be two members of the faculty at Pacific Oaks College, namely Professor Yolanda Carlos and Professor Christina Waterman, who both have extensive training and experience in dealing with early education.

This and other Pasadena Village Community Events were mentioned in the latest edition of the Pasadena Independent .