More than 4,000 TeamMates mentors and mentees will come together this week to celebrate 200 graduating seniors and 33 years of TeamMates Mentoring.
A two-day celebration at Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium will feature American actress and comedian Melissa Peterman and Diane Mendenhall, President of Nebraska’s Pro Volleyball Team. Mendenhall will be joined by Supernovas – Gina Mancuso-Prososki and Jazz Schmidt. More than 2,400 matches will enjoy a day at the Zoo and celebrate 150 graduating seniors.
At the Annual Red-White Spring Football Game, TeamMates seniors and their mentors will be honored on the field at halftime. TeamMates Co-Founder and Husker football Coach Tom Osborne and College and Pro Football Hall of Fame Husker Will Shields will be on the field to salute the 50-plus seniors in attendance. More than 1,600 matches will show their support at the game representing more than 35 TeamMates Chapters.
Over the past three decades TeamMates has grown from 22 football players serving as mentors to nearly 9,500 matches strong. One of the first 22 players was Husker and Chiefs guard Will Shields.
The TeamMates Mentoring Program is a one-to-one school-based program that focuses on encouraging students to lean into their strengths, graduate from high school, and have a post-secondary plan in place. The spring celebrations serve a dual purpose of recognizing graduating seniors and their mentors while giving younger students a vision of graduation. “This is always an exciting time of the year as we celebrate what full potential looks like when mentees graduate from high school while giving our younger mentees a visual of seeing themselves graduate from high school,” CEO and Husker Blackshirt DeMoine Adams said, “We cannot thank our communities enough for making these events a tremendous success, especially the mentors for using their roles to be positive role models for students.”
About TeamMates Mentoring: The TeamMates Mentoring Program was founded in 1991 by Coach Tom and Nancy Osborne to support and encourage school-aged students. TeamMates is the largest school-based mentoring program in the country. With a mission to “positively impact the world by inspiring students to reach their full potential through mentoring,” TeamMates serves nearly 9,500 students across 190 communities in Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, Wyoming and South Dakota. Through weekly in-school meetings, mentors and mentees build long-standing relationships that create a ripple effect. To learn more about TeamMates Mentoring, please go to TeamMates.org.
