For Immediate Release: Nicolette Geisler, Director
August 9, 2012 785.296.8447, ngeisler@ksde.org
Head Football Coaches of Local Universities Challenge Each Other On and Off the Field During the 5th Annual Coaches Challenge
Kansas, Nebraska and Iowa Challenge Each Other To See Which State Can
Recruit More Mentors
Across the country it is estimated that more than 15 million children are on waiting lists to be matched with a caring, adult mentor - thousands of those children live right here in Kansas, Nebraska and Iowa. As a way to bridge this mentoring gap, Kansas, Nebraska and Iowa have engaged in a friendly wager – dubbed the Coaches Challenge - to see which state can recruit the most new mentors during the college football season.
Each state’s efforts are being coordinated by a lead organization, and head football coaches from local universities have stepped up to lead each of the respective states during the 5th annual Coaches Challenge:
Team Kansas: Coach Bill Snyder of Kansas State University, Coach Charlie Weis of the University of Kansas and Kansas Mentors, the state mentoring partnership of Kansas.
Team Nebraska: Coach Bo Pelini of the University of Nebraska
Team Iowa: Coach Kirk Ferentz of the University of Iowa, Coach Paul Rhoads of Iowa State University and Coach Mark Farley of the University of Northern Iowa and the Iowa Mentoring Partnership.
The 2012 Coaches Challenge kicked off Aug. 1 and will run through Nov. 30. The Challenge is a call to all individuals to become a mentor and invest in our youth and the future of our states. During the 2011 Challenge, more than 9,500 mentors were recruited between the three states. The goal for 2012 is to recruit more than 10,000 new mentors that will ultimately result in more youth being matched with caring, adult role models.
Individuals interested in taking the Challenge and learning more about youth mentoring and local mentoring programs can visit their state’s lead:
Kansas: Kansas Mentors, www.kansasmentors.org, 785-296-8447
Nebraska: TeamMates, www.teammates.org, 402-515-7731
Iowa: Iowa Mentoring Partnership www.iowamentoring.org, 1-800-308-5987
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