Know a kid who could benefit from one-on-one mentoring this fall? Lucky for you, Middlebury College is offering its Community Friends program, which matches Addison County 6- to 12-year- olds with trained college students.

The program was started in 1960 and is currently in its 61st year of operation. After getting matched with a student, mentees begin to meet regularly one-on-one with their mentor for about two hours each week. The mentor and mentee coordinate the timing of that meeting, based on mutual availability.

In non-pandemic times, mentors and mentees often play games, construct crafts, and attend group events. This fall, mentoring will happen virtually at first, but may move to in-person meetings later this academic year based on Vermont guidelines and policies.

Parents, teachers, guidance counselors and other service providers can fill out the mentee referral form online at tinyurl.com/ y3x6jnl8 to start the application process. For questions or inquiries about Community Friends, contact Lead Student Coordinator Maddie at [email protected], or Mentoring and Outreach AmeriCorps VISTA member Tenzin Dorjee, tndorjee@ middlebury.edu, 802-443- 5082.