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June Community Coffee Hour
Grab your coffee or tea, and join your mentoring program peers and MENTOR Virginia on Wednesday, April 24th from 9:00 – 10:00 am for Community Coffee Hour. We’ll be joined by Benjamin Blakely and Derrick Veney from The Family One for a discussion on expanding funding and partnerships as a new program.
MENTOR Virginia will virtually host Community Coffee Hour every 2nd Wednesday of the month with mentoring program staff to create space for peer-to-peer learning and resource sharing, and to address issues you and your organization might be facing during the pandemic and beyond. We hope to see you at an upcoming Community Coffee Hour!
Meet Our Guest Speakers:
With a professional background in telecommunications and real estate, Benjamin leverages professional and life experiences in his youth advocacy approach. Benjamin has shown a continued desire and passion for creating environments and programs to support the local youth. Benjamin’s interests span arts, culture, science, sports and music; however, he is most interested in the betterment of he youth. As a father, a mentor and a basketball coach Benjamin’s focus is on building confidence, self-esteem and critical thinking skills. He works with community groups to create and collaborate on youth gatherings, activities and workshops. His work promotes self-awareness, situational awareness as well as care and contribution for the community.
Derrick A. Veney brings with him a wealth of knowledge and hands-on experience in trauma-informed care for youth. He spent 5 years working with Northeastern Family Institute, Inc., / Grafton Integrated Health Network Counselor/Direct Care Program Staff II. Derrick has the ability to identify and relate to youth in a manner that allows trauma to be addressed and the healing journey to begin. Also a father, coach, and mentor, Derrick is passionate about the eradication of youth food insecurities and homelessness problems within the community.