Making a difference in Jacob's life

ROSS GIBLIN/ The Dominion Post

JACOB'S LADDER: Casey James, 21, is a mentor to Jacob Warren, 11, of Te Aro School, in the Challenge for Change programme.

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University student Casey James, 21, wants to become a fulltime youth worker and Wellington boy Jacob Warren, 11, is not a big fan of school.

This explains why the unlikely pair regularly hang out together in the playground after school even in a howling southerly.

For Mr James, giving up his time as a volunteer mentor is a perfectly logical thing to do. "I want to get into fulltime youth work. I'm doing a BA at Victoria in psychology and education with a youth work career goal in mind."

Mr James was invited to help Jacob, a Te Aro School year 7 pupil, get over his dislike of school through the Challenge for Change programme, run by the Wellington Boys and Girls Institute. They are 13 weeks into a 20-week programme.

"This mentoring programme is definitely a major step towards my career goal and my first chance of making a big difference in a young person's life," Mr James said.

And Jacob knows a good deal when he sees one too.

"I don't enjoy school. I just want to get it over and done with. Two nights a week Casey meets me after school. Waiting for Casey makes the day go really quickly. I think we'll be hanging out together for 20 years," Jacob said.

There are already signs the partnership is paying dividends.

Although Jacob still admits an aversion for school, he has just been awarded a principal's certificate for working hard and getting good results.

"I get my kicks from that. It's all about giving him confidence," Mr James said.

Programme organisers have plans for Mr James and Jacob to take part in a group visit to Turoa ski-field on Mt Ruapehu next month. That's just fine by Jacob, who has a skateboard and wants to branch out into snowboarding.

"He buys me dinner. He is taking me on a snowboarding trip. I like it," Jacob said.

* You can nominate an unsung hero for our Volunteer Week series. Email news@dompost.co.nz

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Lizzie Oussov   #1   10:20 pm Jan 28 2010

I went to Te Aro School, and I was in the year above Jacob (Yr 8). I remember that he hated coming to school, and he had a bad attitude. I noticed a big difference after he started the programme, and now he's a really cool kid.

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