L ast week, local educators recognized the meaningful contributions made by local mentors as part of the 11th annual National Mentor Day.

Volunteers from many local businesses and public institutions –including Rocky Mount Police Department, Nash County Health Department and Cummins Rocky Mount Engine plant – spend at least an hour every week mentoring students at area middle schools. Their efforts help students complete coursework, which in turn makes them more likely to remain engaged in school and not drop out. Completing high school is necessary for the vast majority of jobs nowadays.

But there is more to mentoring than just grades. Spending time with adults who care about kids is an important part of any child’s development. Children judge themselves against adults and decide what things interest them, based on what others do.

Seeing someone work as a police officer, as a nurse or a lineman reminds children that those options are available for them, too. Each adult who is involved in a child’s life adds another option for that child’s future.

That’s why the work by Communities In Schools of the Rocky Mount Region is so important. Mentors understand their own past struggles with school and can help future generations avoid those same pitfalls.

Others support the mentoring program through financial donations, which are needed. But the gift of time can mean a great deal to a child, especially those who lack stability in other parts of their lives through no fault of their own.

The results speak for themselves: All 28 Communities In Schools seniors graduated from high school. So thank you, mentors, for your hard work.