By By Steve Gillespie / staff writer
April 9, 2002
Mississippi Attorney General Mike Moore is set to arrive in Meridian today to push for more mentorship in the Big Brothers-Big Sisters programs.
Moore is scheduled for several appearances, including ones at Hope Village for Children, Crestwood Elementary School and Boys and Girls Club of Lauderdale County.
The Meridian stop is part of the statewide "Link-A-Life Mentoring Tour" a project of Moore's office, the Mississippi Economic Council, Leadership Mississippi and Big Brothers-Big Sisters of Mississippi.
Moore said Mississippi has about 1,500 Big Brother-Big Sister active mentorship matches. He said he is challenging the statewide organization to double its mentorship matches with youth by the end of the year.
Terrence Roberts is the program manager of Big Brothers-Big Sisters of Mississippi-Meridian. He said he hopes that "Moore's visit will be a big shot in the arm for our programs to encourage people to become mentors."
The Big Brothers-Big Sisters mentorship program has been in place in the Meridian Public School District since January 2001. The district currently has 162 matches with kindergarten through junior high students.
Moore is scheduled to announce a mentoring program for Hope Village for Children, a home for abused and neglected children. He also is expected to announce a new program in partnership with the local Boys and Girls Club.
While at Crestwood Elementary, Moore will support the "Bigs in Blue" program calling for policemen, firefighters and sheriff's deputies to be involved in mentorships.
Also, at a luncheon at Mississippi Power Co., Moore is slated to encourage business leaders to become more involved in mentoring.
JUST THE FACTS
Mississippi Attorney General Mike Moore's itinerary for today includes stops in the following locations:
10:30 a.m.: Hope Village for Children.
Noon: Mississippi Power Co., luncheon.
1:30 p.m.: Crestwood Elementary School.
2:45 p.m.: Boys and Girls Club of Lauderdale County.
Additional cities and dates for Moore's "Link-A-Life Mentoring Tour" include the other Big Brother-Big Sister mentorship sites in Mississippi:
April 11: Cleveland.
April 16: Brookhaven.
May 2: Tupelo.
May 9: Jackson.
June 27: Biloxi, Gulfport and Pascagoula.
More cities are expected to be added to the tour.