Each month, we introduce a member from MentorAction. This month we would like to introduce David. David has been volunteering with Interval House of Hamilton’s MentorAction over the last few years and has spent many hours actively volunteering on many MentorAction initaitives.
“My name is Dave and I’ve been working with youth for approximately 8 years as a mentor and educational coach. I also teach a health and wellness course at Mohawk College part-time. My passion is to enable confidence and potential in youth as they navigate through high school, and all of the associated pressures, so that they can eventually achieve their educational and career goals.
I’ve had the honour of being a member of the MentorAction steering committee for nearly 5 years. When I first joined the committee I didn’t know too much about gender based violence and it was actually a huge wake-up call when I learned about some of the statistics and facts. It then led me to start viewing the women in my life – my wife, my daughter, my mother, my friends, my coworkers – from a different perspective. One that is more supportive and protective in terms of understanding the issue and the need to raise awareness. I knew that being member of MentorAction was a great opportunity to contribute to raising awareness and planning initiatives that focus on ending gender based violence in Hamilton.
Typically, people’s brains are most receptive to change, whether good or bad, when they are high school age. That’s why I believe that it is crucial that the GBV message starts with the youth in our community. With that being said, I’m excited to be able to support youth and am looking forward to getting students involved in opportunities where they can participate in MentorAction initiatives in the future.”