Promises kept! VCU students give back to the community through The Carver Promise

By Mike Porter

On a mid-December day, Brenda Drew was hurrying through the halls of Richmond's George Washington Carver Elementary School. And everywhere she went, the executive director of VCU's The Carver Promise encountered the same questions from excited students.

"Is today the day?" one asked. "Will he be here soon?" whispered another. 

Given their young age and the time of year, one could assume Santa Claus was on the minds of these elementary school students.  Instead, all were asking about the next visit from their Carver Promise mentors.

"The VCU–Carver Promise relationship is just a great example of communities working together, bringing together various cultures, backgrounds and experiences," said Drew.

The Carver Promise pairs college and high school mentors with elementary school mentees in a one-on-one educational and social relationship. This year, 145 college and high school mentors are participating, including 86 from Virginia Commonwealth University. 

Mentor Mysee Green is in her second year of studying accounting, math and education at VCU. She joined The Carver Promise in October and has been paired with mentee De'sean.

"He likes to talk to me about his weekend and the things he likes to do," Green said. "And I like to talk to him about making good decisions." 

Reading is an important part of their get-togethers.

"I read with him every time I'm here," Green said. "And I always ask him a lot of questions to make sure he understands what he's reading because if he can't read, he won't be able to do anything else."

VCU Mentor Preston Simms agrees with Green about the importance of reading. With male mentors in short supply, the third-year business administration and management student is an especially popular visitor to the school.

"I think today a higher percentage of children grow up in a single-parent family where mom is actually the mom and the dad and dads may not be playing an active role. I think it's important for the children to have a positive male role model," Simms said.

Both VCU students are busy. In addition to a full schedule of classes and mentoring for The Carver Promise, Green is a member of Big Brothers/Big Sisters and VCU Americorps. She also serves as an after-school tutor.

"But this is a priority.  I want to make sure every child in Richmond has a mentor," Green said.

And for Simms, what started as a class requirement has grown into a long-term commitment to the children.

"Seeing them happy makes me happy," Simms said. "And if I can change their view, maybe I can help them grow up more positively and who knows, one day they become mentors too."

The Carver Promise is part of the Carver-VCU Partnership and is coordinated by VCU's Division of Community Engagement.  VCU students interested in becoming mentors should contact VCU Volunteer Services.