FARMINGTON – The University of Maine at Farmington’s Girls Talk/Teen Voices Mentor Partnership programs recently received a major grant from the Maine Humanities Council in the amount of $3,834 to support continued growth of programs and to allow for new program initiatives.

UMF’s nationally-recognized Girls Talk/Teen Voices program pairs girls in grades five through eight in Phillips, Strong and Kingfield with female mentors who are either UMF students or community professionals.

The mentoring relationships provide role models for the girls and develop into friendships that support the positive development of the girls’ aspirations and self-esteem. In addition, the program is designed to expand the girls’ exposure to cultural experiences and issues that will help them develop as future leaders and become active and long-term participants in service to their communities.

Funding received by the Maine Humanities Council will allow for new program initiatives, such as a common reading, attending a cultural event and conferences, expanding the genres of literature selected and bringing a published author as a featured speaker for all programs.

Additionally, an I-Movie DVD will be created by participants, and UMF will host a train the trainers institute in June. Through the institute, other schools will have the opportunity to develop their own programs.

Current programs include community service projects, which have included activities such as creating biographical display boards through conducting oral history interviews with prominent women in their communities, Kids Night Out, assisting with the Coins for Cancer fundraising project and creating program display quilts that are donated to their schools.

Girls Talk/Teen Voices was created in September 2000 by its co-founders, UMF Associate Director of the Center for Student Involvement Kirsten Swan and UMF student and former Kingfield Elementary School After-School Program Director Laurie Tranten.

Today, the program involves more than 120 participants, including mentors. Its current program directors include Lynne Eustis of Phillips, Shelby Newell of Strong and Sandy Schniepp and Deby Johnson of Kingfield.

Swan, who provides the link to the approximately 45 UMF women student mentors, said, “It’s truly amazing to be a part of these programs and witness the profound personal impact the programs have in the lives of the girls, teens, their schools, student leaders and community mentors.”

In 2002, Girls Talk/Teen Voices received national recognition, selected by the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators as one of 10 programs nationwide to receive its Exemplary Program Award. Leaders from other communities throughout Maine, the U.S. and Canada have expressed interest in adapting the model for use in their schools.

The program is funded in part through a grant from the Maine Humanities Council with support from the New Century Community Program and the National Endowment for the Humanities. Other supporters include Kingfield Elementary School; Kingfield Parent Teachers Association; Phillips CARE Association; Strong Parent Teacher Association and American Charities; Jennifer and Richard Kershaw, formerly of Farmington; and Tranten’s Shurfine Foods of Kingfield.

For more information, contact Swan at 778-7347 or [email protected].