Building strong goals and enriching children’s lives is a big part of Regina Jones’ work day.

For the last two years Regina has worked with the Big Brothers-Big Sisters mentoring program.

“I used to be a kindergarten teacher and I loved to be in a school setting,” Jones said. “I wanted to help in any way that I could with children.”

The Big Brothers-Big Sisters program was founded in 1970 by Family Service Agency. The program consists of matching a child with an adult mentor according to the interests of the child and mentor. The volunteers spend time with the children to build positive relationships with one another. According to Big Brothers-Big Sisters, children involved with the volunteers are more confident in their school work, get along better with their friends and feel more accepted by their peers. That is exactly how Sharvelle, an eight-year-old in the third grade at Gwendolyn Brooks Elementary School, feels.

“I had a spelling test today,” Sharvelle said. “I think I only missed three words!”

Sharvelle has been working with Jones for the last two years. Every Thursday, Jones and Sharvelle get together at Sharvelle’s school.

“Along with helping her with her school work we just play games, go out to lunch and talk,” Jones said. “We have a lot of fun together.”

Jones helps Sharvelle with not only spelling but also reading.

“My favorite thing to do with the program is reading,” Sharvelle said. “We read all kinds of books, but my favorites are ‘Arthur’ and ‘Rugrats’.”

Sharvelle is one of the many kids involved with Big Brothers-Big Sisters.

“The program is really wonderful in the fact that it not only benefits the kids, but it also benefits the volunteers,” said Kathy Hicks, Gwendolyn Brooks Elementary School mentor coordinator.

Hicks is not the only one who feels the program benefits students. Sharvelle’s third grade teacher Nancy Carnahan also enjoys the program.

“The mentoring program is really good for the kids,” Carnahan said. “It gives them one-on-one attention in the classroom.”

Jones strongly recommends that people get involved with the program.

“It is a very rewarding program,” she said. “Not only do you get that pleasure of helping another child personally, you get a good feeling when you are doing something to help someone else. It only takes an hour a week.”