In the RUSC Kinship Lunch Buddy Program, a Kinship match will spend the student’s lunch time together.
They will eat lunch and then either play a game, work on an activity, read a book or just sit and talk. The time together will focus on the fostering of a caring and supportive friendship. The objective of the Lunch Buddy Mentoring Program is to improve a child’s social skills and self-esteem in order to foster a better attitude for learning; ultimately improving school success.
The 2023/2024 Lunch Buddy Program saw record participation with a total of 63 second grade students from Chokio/Alberta, St. Mary’s, and Morris Area Elementary Schools. With that many kiddos participating we also needed a record number of volunteers and our community did not disappoint. 58 volunteers from our community stepped forward and made some lifelong connections. The current school year has surpassed last year with over 70 second grade students being involved in the Lunch Buddy Program.
What does all of that mean? Within our community, there was almost 500 hours worth of quality time spent with young people in our community, letting our young people know that WE (our community) care about them. WE want to spend time with them. WE want to know how they are doing.
Check out the RUSC Kinship Mentoring Facebook page for fun up to date pictures from all 5 of our Lunch Buddy groups.
If you are interested in becoming a part of our Lunch Buddy Program, visit RUSC Kinship Lunch Buddies and fill out the interest form!
