Big or small, far-ranging or in one’s proverbial backyard, the experiences that come with being a Talbot Mentors mentee basically boil down to connection, the broadening of horizons, and stories. When asked to delve into her wealth of experiences as a mentee, Jazmine Gibson, now an integral part of the Talbot Mentors team, says that a visit to the post office held as much weight as a visit to New York. “My mentor, Miss Merrilie [Ford], regularly took me on errands, which I loved,” she says. “At the post office I learned about postage stamps and how mail was weighed sorted, and delivered. It was great,” she says. “And we would walk Miss Merrilie’s dogs—that meant a lot to me because I didn’t grow up with pets.”
Early in her relationship with her mentor, Jazmine found herself on the “giving side” of the volunteer-service fence. Her sixth-grade class had embarked on a project to gather and distribute food and toys to the animals at the Talbot Humane shelter. Each child in the class earned 15 hours of service for this effort—toward a total of 75. This number had to be reached in order for a student to receive a high school diploma. Jazmine graduated with 700-plus hours under her belt.
After high school she spent a year at the University of North Caroline Greensboro (major: psychology), then three semesters at Chesapeake Community College (major: communications), on scholarships from a few sources, including Talbot Mentors. “At that point I wasn’t sure what I wanted to ‘do with my life,’” she says. “and I didn’t want to continue with school if I didn’t have direction.”
In fact that direction—in full bloom—fell just short of being hard-wired. She always knew she wanted to be “part of the solution.” The community-service bug never stopped buzzing. So as she earned a paycheck with various employers, from Food Lion to BJ’s, she worked as a volunteer on a wealth of fronts, participating in an alcohol-awareness program, collecting and sorting provisions for the local food pantry, helping out with Easton’s Plein Air and Watefowl events, and—her favorite—giving time to the residents of Dixon House, an assisted living facility in Easton. “We interviewed these wonderful people and put together scrapbooks for them—and us.” I loved their stories.”
Jazmine talks about stories a lot. They fuel her.
In 2015, Jazmine gave Talbot Mentors five hours of her time to assist in a workshop entitled “Getting Your First Job” as part of Rotary’s Career Path Initiative . She’d been approached by Talbot Mentors Executive Director Natalie Costanzo, who’d learned about her through the tight-knit community-service grapevine. Right after the Career Path workshop, Jazmine recalls, “Natalie said, ‘Hey, thank you for helping. I know you’ve done all sorts of community service work. Are you interested in doing the quarter-year AmeriCorps program at Talbot Mentors?” (AmeriCorps is a highly respected volunteer-driven program administered by the Maryland Governor’s office.) Natalie handed Jazmine an information sheet and asked her to think about it. “It sounded like a really cool opportunity,” Jazmine recalls. She accepted. Her experience as a Talbot Mentors mentee informed all she did that year. Indeed, she and Miss Merrilie, her mentor starting at age 11, continue to be in touch. “I love her and wouldn’t have the life I have today if not for our time together,” she says.
“During her stint with us, Jazmine proved to be smart, capable, caring—and fun,” says Natalie. “Talbot Mentors benefitted enormously from having her on the team.” Natalie would be thrilled to have her stay on.
In September, Jazmine became AmeriCorps’ Volunteer Maryland Coordinator, a full-time position with Talbot Mentors that comes with a “living stipend.” Volunteer Maryland’s mission is to build stronger, healthier communities by improving volunteer programs with nonprofit organizations, government agencies, and schools.
Easton born and bred, Jazmine, now 23, is putting in place policies and programs to help Talbot Mentors grow into a stronger organization. She recruits mentors and helps them be productive volunteers, and she puts together programs for the kids. “It is all about experiences,” she says, “and hearing our mentees’ stories gives me such hope.” Underpinning her work is the heartfelt understanding of what Talbot Mentors has done for her. (To backtrack: Her mentor came into her life when her mom traveled across the bridge for work, leaving little time for extracurricular activities, and her father was incarcerated.)
The mission of Talbot Mentors is to work to ensure that all young people in Talbot County have the opportunity to mature into engaged and productive members of their communities. To this end, their volunteers serve as mentors to young people in the community. Jazmine is in an excellent position to recruit such volunteers, because she was mentored herself. She is building on her experiences.
And the future? “I hope to gain management skills,” Jazmine says, “so that I can apply them to having my own business some day. I also want to learn the ins and outs of nonprofit work, and truly understand the impact that one individual can have.” Humble words from someone who has spent more than a decade helping others.
For more information, to make a contribution, or to volunteer as a mentor, call Talbot Mentors at 410-770-5999 or visit www.talbotmentors.org.
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