Research consistently shows that kids benefit from relationships with caring adults in addition to their parents.

A study of 1,000 young people for Big Brothers Big Sisters showed that, compared to other groups, children with mentors were

• 46% less likely to begin using illegal drugs
• 27% less likely to begin using alcohol
• 53% less likely to skip school
• 33% less likely to engage in school violence

In addition to the above statistics, mentored children also showed improved relationships with both their peers and their family’s.

A Mentor’s Story

Disheartening statistics isn’t what lured me into becoming a mentor, but my personality traits of  being helpful, having a giving heart, and believing in volunteer work that I believe sparked my interest in becoming a mentor.

A friend had mentioned that she had been a ‘Big Sister’ in her early 20s.   At that time I was 24 and had been on my own and supporting myself for 5 years.  I realized that I had extra time to take on a commitment like mentoring a child and after all the paperwork and background checks had been done, I spoke with a BBBS counselor named Neal with the Big Brothers & Big Sisters organization, .

Since it was Neal’s job was to match me with a Little Sister, I made sure he knew that I wanted the youngest girl available.  I had decided this wasn’t going to be ‘just a mentoring‘ relationship but instead a ‘lifelong friend‘.

Renee

On August 16, 1997 I met Renee.  She was 7 years old, which is younger than BBBS’s 8 year old requirement, but because of extending circumstances she was allowed to enter the program early.

The girls’ mother, in my opinion, gave her girls the best gift she could ever give them, especially since she was terminally ill, Renee and her three older sisters all had Big Sisters.

In the years to come not only did I help her with homework, take her places, make special projects, but I also made sure I got to know her family to help her understand and manage the relationships she had with her sisters, mother, and step-father.

Other than always touching base and becoming a part of her family I made her a part of mine and took her to all my family functions over the years.

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Featured Guest Article

by Robert Hruzek

Photo by M. Ryan

Hey, do your digital photos tend to come out looking pale and washed-out?

Mine sure do!

Are the colors not quite as vivid as you remembered?

Yep;  that’s me, all right!

The Free, Fast, & Easy Software

When it comes to capturing those great moments with today’s cameras, well, I must admit to being something of a dweeb.  I’ll tell ya; I can never figure out how to get the best out of ‘em.

The good news is, help is available! For instance, there’s a great photo-editing tool available that’s easy, fast and – best of all – free! (Don’cha just love that word?)

Trust me; it’s easier than you think.

Edit It & Store It

With just a couple of clicks I will show you how to use a free web-based photo-editing tool called Picnik to make even ordinary-seeming photos come alive. But here’s the best news: Picnik has partnered with Flickr in such a way that they’re practically joined at the hip!

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We have a great no-bake cake recipe from our friends at Family Fun Magazine.

Mom’s, kid’s and dad’s enjoy, this look yummmy!

Cool Cake for Mom (No Baking Required)

Dad and company can make this creamy, foolproof confection on their own — no oven (and no Mom) required!

That’s because this cake “cooks” in the refrigerator.   All you do is prepare a few ingredients.

RECIPE INGREDIENTS:

	1 (10 3/4-ounce) pound cake
	1 (3 1/8-ounce) box of instant pudding
	1 cup whipped topping
	Fruit (we used 2 bananas and 4 large strawberries)
	Mint sprigs (optional)
	Chilled chocolate syrup

RECIPE STEPS:

1. Slice the pound cake into several horizontal slices about an inch thick.

2. Prepare the pudding according to package directions.  Mix the pudding with the whipped topping.

3. Chop up the fresh fruit you’ve chosen.

4. Layer the cake, fruit, and a little less than half of the pudding mixture in a loaf pan.  Then top the cake with the remaining pudding.

5. Put the cake in the fridge for a couple of hours. When it’s chilled, decorate it; we topped ours with trimmed strawberries and mint sprigs.

6. Squeeze on a greeting with chilled chocolate syrup.  Then serve Mom a sweet treat on her special day.

What other plans do you have for your mom? Did you make her a card or buy her a gift?

Please share your plans with all the kids and mom’s and tell us what makes your mom special!

Oh how I love my iPhone…  Let me count the ways….

My iPhone is honestly the next best resource when I don’t have my computer with an internet connection and this interview pretty much lays out my thoughts as to why.

Of course, this is my personal opinion, but there seem to be other iPhoneSpaz’s out there…  and I have found them!

I’m Not The Only iPhoneSpaz!

I also got some input from fellow geeks on twitter so let’s get this started.

“I love my iPhone because it’s unrequited love from afar. No one loves me enough to buy me one. It’s imaginary, fantasy, and folly.”  — Scott Merrick

“Loves her iPhone because it’s so empowering! I can get information about anything and everything and respond in realtime!“  — Gail Mari

“Easy to learn, slick, easy-to-use interface, nice comfortable size, killer potential with addition of multitude of apps.”   — Robert Hruzek

“I can personalize it to exactly what I need and want. As simple or complex as I choose”  — Scott Nelson

“My iphone can do just as much as my computer:  find places to eat, gives pollen count, play games, give directions & it loves me back.”  — Christine K

iPhoneSpaz Interview

Recently, I had a conversation and then an interview with Jamie Grove Mr. iPhoneSpaz himself about my beloved iPhone.

Jamie: First thing’s first… How many apps do you have and what got you hooked?

Vicky: 38 added (non standard icons/applications).

The main thing that got me hooked was flexibility and convenience.

I want to have both the flexibility and convenience of doing many of the same things on my phone that I can do on my computer. When I’m away from my computer, it is very important that I can do some of the same basic tasks that I’m able to complete on my computer. Many times it’s not that I actually ‘want’ to accomplish something, but it is also the piece of mind knowing that there is not something important that I should be attending to that I am missing, which is many times as simple as being able to see my email account.

The other thing that is really convenient is to be able to use time that is many times unuseful (ie.. waiting in the waiting room for a dr.’s appt) to either complete or start small tasks.

This time is no longer unuseful, I can make use of this time to get something done.

Jamie: How has the iPhone changed your life?

Vicky: Owning an iPhone has given me both basic functionality and many additional application options.

Basic functionality like contacts, calendar, Google maps, notes, camera, iPod (music), email, text messaging, web browser combined with add-on’s like WordPress, Facebook, Jott, Linked-In, Twitterfon, Skype, and Evernote.

With the additional applications that are so available on the iPhone, I could offset the additional price of purchasing an iPhone because of the additional functionality. I didn’t by an iPod or a Blackberry, instead I used the funds for these purchases to be able to purchase the iPhone. I also felt confident with the popularity of this particular phone and the number of applications being created that this technology and the appliations would continue to be a platform that developers would continue to both develop new applications and support/update existing applications.

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What do you think?

Do you love your iPhone or another phone?  What’s your favorite application or time saving tip?