Bernie gives as good as he gets

By Nicole Williams
BERNIE Smith was keen to give back to his community and thought youth mentoring was a good opportunity.
The 20-year-old Narre Warren resident heard of the YMCA youth mentoring program during the Casey Arc annual meeting and he decided to give the program a go.
After undertaking interviews and training sessions, Bernie was selected as a mentor and partnered with Dylan Newman, aged 10, in May this year.
“Throughout the process I was always wondering about the first meeting and I must admit, I was very nervous,” Bernie said.
As it turned out, both were nervous for their introduction and the friendship got off to a slow start.
On their first outing Bernie could not get more than one word answers from Dylan but three weeks later he had come out of his shell.
They visited the library and as Bernie pulled up, Dylan was out of the car and racing to beat him on the Xbox.
“On reflection, seeing such a dramatic change in such a short period of time allowed me to really see the positive impact that this program was having on Dylan,” Bernie said.
Although the partnership is still in its early stages, the boys are now on the road to a strong relationship.
Since that first meeting, Bernie has been humbled and motivated by the experience and it has already positively impacted his own life.
He said that giving Dylan something to look forward to has allowed him to put his life into perspective.
“It allows me one hour, once a week to leave my university and part-time work behind and concentrate on someone else,” Bernie said.
“I can’t wait for the coming year and I truly encourage everyone to try this.”
For more information on YMCA youth mentoring contact Rebecca Graham at Casey ARC on 9705 5085.