Kylie Negley knows the importance of a mentor.

“Whenever I was younger, I needed somebody,” said Negley, a Butler County Community College student and child care worker. “I needed a mentor, so I chose to become one.”

Negley is one of the volunteers and mentors in the Butler YMCA's Reach and Rise youth group mentoring program that starts Monday with about 20 mentees, ages 8 through 15.

The program replaces the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Butler County, which only served about 12 children because of the small number of mentors, said Rachel Campbell, clinical director of youth services.

“We were finding mentors weren't coming to the table anymore,” Campbell said. “There's that fear to be one-to-one with kids.”

Two mentors are trained to work together with a small group of children, Campbell said, adding children will never be alone with an adult.

“Looking at Big Brothers and Big Sisters, there was some flaws in that program,” said Kate Eberle Cotter, Reach and Rise director.

Last fall, Reach and Rise served 15 children in two groups at the Butler YMCA and one group at the Mars Home for Youth, which was more children than YMCA served in the Big Brother Big Sister program, Campbell said.

The new program offers more structure, reporting and resources, Cotter said.

Volunteers receive 15 hours of training, obtain background clearances, have weekly follow-ups and plan their group sessions, Campbell said.

Now, the program has enough volunteers to have substitutes, she said.

“It's just exciting to see members of our community and all walks of life committed to supporting the development of our young people,” Cotter said.

Reach and Rise is curriculum structured where lessons are tailored based on the mentees' needs, she said. Lessons include body image, cultural identity, self-care and self-awareness, active listening, feelings, anger management, grief, stress and trauma, and problem-solving and life skills.

“They're looking for people to show them these things because they may not have them at home,” Campbell said. “They are looking for the adults to show them what this looks like.”

Instead of a one-on-one setting, the instruction will take place in a group setting.

The sessions are therapeutic, which means what the students share with their mentors stays in confidence, Campbell said.

“It's confidential, unless the kids feel comfortable enough to tell a parent or unless there's an issue,” she said. “Kids need a safe place.”

Cotter will meet with the mentees and their families to provide monthly updates and follow-up, which is new in the program because Big Brother and Big Sisters had no family connection, Cotter said.

Those connections allow for them to offer support and resources to the families, she said.

A group will also run during the summer from June to August, Cotter said.

The goal is to expand the program to the Rose E. Schneider Family YMCA Home in Cranberry Township, Campbell said.

About 75 percent of children abstain from substance abuse if they are involved in mentoring programs, said Campbell.

While in groups, the mentees will learn and feed off each other, which helps them relate to one another, Negley said about the six children who will be in her group.

“I find this a lot more beneficial,” Negley said. “I find this a lot more interactive.”

Negley, who was accepted into the social work program at California University of Pennsylvania, said the training has benefited her for the future.

Another mentor who is ready for Monday was Bill Hetrick, a retired teacher who taught from 1960 to 1998. He also does prison ministry.

“I love kids,” Hetrick said. “I realize what kids need is different from when I grew up.”

One of the children Hetrick mentored came up to him after a basketball game to shake his hand, which shows the impact the program has on students, he said.

“What surprised me, being 81 years old, is the kids will accept an old person,” he said.

Mentors need to give a caring message to their mentees, Hetrick said.

“Let them know you care, that's the big thing,” he said. “That somebody cares and that they are somebody.”

Reach and Rise, a youth-mentoring program, is free for youths and is funded through the YMCA's annual support campaign.For more information about the program or to become a mentor or mentee, call Kate Eberle Cotter, Reach and Rise director, at 724-287-4733, Ext. 136, or visit the Butler YMCA website at butler.bcfymca.org.