Jan. 3, 2020

GreatLIFE Golf & Fitness and the Sioux Falls School District will be partnering with the TeamMates Mentoring Program, a program started by former University of Nebraska football coach and Nebraska state lawmaker Tom Osborne.

Osborne started the program in 1991 with his wife, Nancy, while he was still coaching at Nebraska. The mission of the program is to impact the world by inspiring youth to reach their full potential through mentoring, according to its website. 

Osborne was on hand Friday as the keynote speaker of the announcement event, discussing the importance of the program and the effect it will have on the Sioux Falls community. 

“What’s happening to our young people impacts our country,” Osborne said. “Providing an adult in a young person’s life is critical. … A mentor can show you the way through and give you hope. If you don’t have hope in your life, you’ll find something else to fill you, and it’s usually not the best things.”

GreatLIFE chairman and CEO Tom Walsh was a key contributor in bringing TeamMates to Sioux Falls, Superintendent Brian Maher said.

The GreatLIFE Cares Foundation is sponsoring the implementation of TeamMates with an $80,000 contribution. Walsh said GreatLIFE also has reached out to all of its employees to encourage them to join the program as mentors. 

More than 400 Sioux Falls kids are on wait lists for other mentorship programs, according to Walsh, and he said TeamMates will help fill those needs in the community.

“Everybody has had somebody who has formally or informally impacted their lives, and these kids are no different,” Walsh said. “They need a positive role model, and Tom Osborne’s TeamMates program is probably the best brand for mentoring.”

Lora Hayes will serve as the executive director of the Sioux Falls branch of TeamMates. 

Last year, TeamMates served more than 10,000 kids in more than 170 communities across Nebraska, South Dakota, Kansas, Wyoming and Iowa. Mentors meet with their mentees one-on-one in school, once a week, during the academic year. They help students identify their gifts and talents, assist with homework and spend time talking.

After his speech, Osborne mentioned his own experiences with mentorship. When he was a child, he said his father served in World War II. His uncle then took over as a strong figure in his life, providing support for him as he grew older.

“I don’t know how I would have ended up if I hadn’t had that in life,” Osborne said.

Mentoring programs such as TeamMates go a long way toward improving the community, Maher added.

“Please consider becoming a TeamMate or jumping on board with another mentoring program,” he said. “I can assure you it’s time well spent.”

Osborne urged community members to volunteer their time as a TeamMates mentor, citing the experience as mutually beneficial for both mentor and mentee.

“We’d like to get across that mentors get as much or more out of it than their mentees do,” he said. “They get an added dimension of meaning and purpose from their life. A lot of them say it’s one of the most significant things in their lives. It’s not a one-way street.”

Mentees can be nominated by a parent, a school staff member or self-nominate. Mentors are matched with mentees based on interests and life experiences. To learn more, click here.