Reading High School mentoring program

Last school year female athletes at Reading High School in Berks County navigated difficult topics like self-confidence, peer pressure and social media with the help of mentors from their community. The program was started by Crystal Gilmore-Harris, the school’s head cheerleading coach, who wanted to help the students find healthy ways to deal with common challenges and make positive life choices.

The program’s structure was simple, but effective. Once a week, volunteers from the community came to speak as positive role models on a variety of topics the students face. After a brief talk, the students and mentor discussed the topics in a roundtable, as a way to encourage each other and instill healthy self-respect.