By Louise BrotenValley City Times-Record

If it takes a village to raise a child, then there are children in Valley City who need the village.    Nicole Sufficool is the new coordinator of Valley City’s Public Schools’ Service Learning and Asset Mentoring Program and she is hoping to recruit mentors from the community to spend time with elementary students who need a little extra support and guidance.    Adults who has a bit of extra time and would like to make a difference in the life of a young person, Sufficool is looking for you.    Adult volunteers are paired, one-on-one, with an elementary student who would benefit from mentoring time. A mentor commits to approximately one half hour a week, either before or after school. Community members shouldn’t let inexperience keep them from volunteering.  Sufficool said training will be provided.    Mary Ann Leier, of Valley City, has been a volunteer mentor for seven years, under several coordinators. She said she spends 30 to 45 minutes with each child. She checks in at the school office and then meets with the student in a room provided. Activities can vary, Leier said. She has helped children with lessons, played games like Uno and taken children to the gym for more active play. She visits with them, sometimes sharing a snack, talking about their week and just generally encouraging them.
    Leier said the coordinator provides an opportunity for the mentors to meet the children and their parents. Parents give their permission for their children to be part of the program. The coordinator matches each child with a volunteer mentor. A volunteer may mentor the same child for several years, allowing the growth of a strong relationship.
     “I find it fulfilling,” Leier said.
    Sufficool grew up in Valley City as Nicole Birchem. A 1993 graduate of VCHS and 1998 graduate of VCSU, Sufficool said she met her husband Brad in college. Sufficool has double education majors--Teaching health and physical education. After six years of teaching health, P.E. and coaching gymnastics in Glencoe, Minn., Sufficool is happy to be back in Valley City. Her husband teaches 7-12 grades P.E. and is the assistant high school football coach.  The Sufficools have two children, Tate and Breck, and a third “due any day.”
    “Weve really wanted to be back and close to family,” Sufficool said. “Valley City has always been a great community.”   
    Sufficool said her position as coordinator has two distinct parts. “The first is to recruit mentors from the community. The second is to oversee service learning projects which connect the community to the aschools.”
    Students undertake projects to fill a need and learn responsibility along the way. Some of the projects Valley City fifth-graders have undertaken are Meals on Wheels deliveries and Fitness for Life exercising with seniors. High school students offer computer classes to senior citizens.  
    The Service Learning and Asset Mentoring Program encourages both giving and receiving.
    If you would like to become a mentor, contact Nicole Sufficool at 845-0483, ext. 109. There is an elementary student in the Valley City Public School system who would benefit from the mentoring of a caring adult.