Former U.S. Congressman and Husker legend Tom Osborne will be bringing his TeamMates Mentoring message to North Platte on this Wednesday.  He will speak at a special reception at the Quality Inn from 5:00 to 6:00 PM that day.  Anyone interested in mentoring is encouraged to attend this special TeamMates presentation.  Due to time constraints, Dr. Osborne will not be able to sign autographs at this event.  Current mentors from area TeamMates chapters are being urged to attend as well, and to bring a guest along who has an interest in mentoring.

TeamMates is a school-based one-to-one mentoring program for students grades 3-12 founded by Coach Osborne and his wife Nancy in 1991.  It often is referred to as the “One Hour Difference” because mentors are asked to devote one hour per week to make a positive difference in the life of a child.  Today the program serves nearly 6,000 youth in Nebraska, Iowa, and California.

“Now officially retired from his position as University of Nebraska’s Athletic Director, Dr. Osborne is focusing his energy on recruiting more mentors for TeamMates”, said state TeamMates board member Kim Baxter,.  “A whole lot more kids are going to benefit from this program as a result of his efforts and we are thankful he has chosen to come to North Platte to spread this important message.”

Osborne has long been a strong proponent for the importance of mentoring and, while serving in Congress, he led efforts to provide more funding for these programs.

Local TeamMates Coordinator Brandy Buscher expects Osborne’s visit to result in the recruitment of many more mentors for the North Platte chapter as well as those of surrounding communities.  “Between the public reception and numerous presentations that Dr. Osborne will be making for some of our area’s largest employee groups, we know that many will hear his message and respond by stepping up to mentor a child”, she said.  “We have many wonderful young people who have asked to have a mentor and we never seem to have enough to satisfy this need.  It’s not a difficult commitment and it makes such a difference in the lives of these kids.”

If you would like to learn more about TeamMates prior to Dr. Osborne’s visit, you can log on to www.teammates.org.  At this website, you can also apply on-line to be a TeamMates mentor.