September 18, 2008 -- BIG GREEN AND LEAD
by Jeff Friedman, Jaeger Civic Intern
Over the summer months, Student-Athletes at Dartmouth College have been very involved in a number of activities. In addition to SEAD, LEAD has been a great organization that allowed student-athletes to mentor younger children during their sophomore summer. LEAD, or Little Kids at Dartmouth, is an organization that works with underprivileged kids from Romano Circle, a government sponsored housing community in West Lebanon, NH. The children from this low-income housing community often come from unstable home environments. Dartmouth students are able to serve as mentors and role models for these young children. Each mentor is assigned a mentee to provide individual support and advice on how to be respectful and responsible. The student-athletes involved in the program help teach the children how to be better people and improve themselves through fun and educational experiences. This summer, the theme of LEAD was “a greener earth”. Many of the activities that the mentors and the children participated in were aimed at improving the environment. The athletes took the children to the farmer's market, went canoeing and swimming, hiked up Balch hill, and took part in recycling around campus. Three Dartmouth athletes, David Putney (Men's Golf), Andrew Peisch (Men's Lacrosse), and Steph Gagnon (Sailing), were involved in LEAD this past summer.
When asked why LEAD was a valuable experience this summer, Putney responded, “You get to see what the local area is like. We get caught in the Dartmouth bubble and forget how lucky we are to be at such an institution. By helping these kids and forming a relationship hopefully we can improve their lives and maybe motivate them to try to be like us---work hard in school and eventually go on to college. It's basically a good way to give back to the community which is pretty supportive of Dartmouth in general.” Peisch echoed the importance of getting a new perspective on life and realizing the importance of giving back. He said that LEAD has given him “a glimpse at the upper valley beyond Dartmouth. And I also really enjoy hanging out with little kids, so was perfect.”
Gagnon has kept in touch with some of the children that she worked with at LEAD and spoke with one of the older girls from Romano Circle about LEAD's impact on her life. Gagnon was very happy to hear that the girl said that LEAD had impacted “her life so much and that her mentor became like her older sister.” Dartmouth student-athletes and Dartmouth students, in general, do an amazing job of serving the upper valley community and developing relationships with younger, underprivileged children that can last forever. Gagnon loved LEAD so much that she said “I wish that I could keep doing this program into the fall, but this summer has been a great experience.
LEAD has been a very valuable program for Dartmouth student-athletes and will continue to be beneficial for both future student-athletes and the younger children whom they mentor. We look forward to getting updates from student-athletes involved in this great program and we encourage more student-athletes to get involved in LEAD next summer!
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