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12 homlstsurusuntribune community saturday may 17 2003 1m jsarldlam stouffviue initiative matches york region moms younger than 25 with older more experienced women by alyssa julie special a york region social agency is hoping to make connections with markham and whitchurchstourfville residents who might want to become mentors for young mothers a trio of markham moth ers part of a rose of sharon program called connec- tions have been waiting several months for matches most of our volunteers are 30 or older manager christine mcgregor ex- plairied about the initiative which pairs moms younger then 25 with mostly older more experienced women i find most women in their 20s dont volunteer because its an extremely busy time in their life that said the program tries to respect the needs of moms who may want a friend rather than a moth- teacher earns honour dorseyjameshas earned all kinds of awards for his teaching and sculpting abili ties now the markham district high school instruc tor has added one more mr james whos set to retire at the end of this school year is a recipient of the york region district school boards outstanding service award for 2003 award recipients have initiated modeled and put into practice the boards val ues of quality service and teamwork according to a media release mr james contribu tions at mdhs resulted in positive change greater suc cess strengthened commu- nications and a good influ ence on others in a supporting letter mr james was touted by markham mayor don cousens as a renowned artist and photographer he recieved the award at the annual awards eivening april 28 adam malik erfigure or someone also parenting her first child so their children can play together mentors provide guid ance and support to help the mothers make the right parental decisions it is important to us that young women receive the informal support they cant get at rose of sharon or other programs available for mothers ms mcgregor said i find most women in their 20s dont volunteer because its an extremely busy time in their life our services are really only available from 9 am to 5pm but often the lonely hours are after 7 when their baby wont stop crying and all they want is a friend to talk to we want to offer a con stant in their life who can attend their childs birthdayc party or take them grocery- shopping so they dont have to take their child and the stroller on the bus friends will offer sup- port when they first hear of the pregnancy but they often dwindle off a mentor can offer friendship and help them get out more so they dont feel so isolated connections a partner ship between rose of sharon and girls inc start ed as a pilot project in october 2001 in june 2002 it received a threeyear grant of 180000 from the ontario trillium foundation because the program is relatively new not enough potential volunteers know about it yet which is why the markham mothers are still waiting there are 10 more women in need of mentors throughout york region were really trying to get the word out in the markham area said ms mcgregor because were so new people dont know of us as much in markham as in the north end of the region newmarket where were based last month ms mc gregor set up a booth in markville shopping centre to spread the word she has also registered the initiative with information markham ifs frustrating to have to make the moms wait so long she said rose of sharon offers other outreach services such as abc a prenatal nutrition program however it is primarily a school for young mothers struggling to attend school and care for their children we offer a child devel opment centre where their children can learn and play while they pursue their own studying ms mcgregor explained there are about 60 moth ers in the school rose of sharon for young mothers also offers individual and group counseling girls inc rose of sharons connections part ner has services throughout york region it is helping recruit vol unteers for the program greenland irrigation for the greenest lawn in town call luke fawns at 416 7174479 or 18003614074 this lifestyle magazine is demogfaphically targeted to new high income homes in york region this is an all glossy process colour feature editorial calendar regular columns for your home wellness wise garden thoughts culture in york region cookingdining publishing summer edition may 2003 fall edition september 2003 winter edition november 2003