PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — Right now, Pinellas County Schools needs more than 1,000 people to help serve as mentors to students.
Starting somewhere new isn't easy, which was no different for Alexandra Schneider and her son, Levi.
"We moved here from Gulfport, and we had to move in the middle of the school year, so he left all of his friends at home and his school behind," said Schneider.
Soon, Schneider said she was asked if her son wanted to be part of a mentoring program.
"I was like yes, yes, yes because he had no one else to talk to other than mom," said Schneider. "I just had noticed he stopped crying, he stopped complaining, he stopped feeling like he was sad all the time, and then he would start telling me about Miss Evie, Miss Evie."
Miss Evie, or Eva Girgis, is a Lunch Pals mentor at Cypress Woods Elementary.
"When I come over, and I see them waiting for me at the table before the time comes even, they're just waiting and excited to see me," said Girgis. "This makes my heart like feel really happy."
Pinellas County Schools is looking for more people just like Eva. The district said it has 1,375 mentors for about 3,000 mentees, pointing out nearly 1,600 mentors are needed, with hundreds of students on a waiting list.
School leaders said mentoring can be done in person or virtually.
Amanda Martinez said her son has come a long way since he got teamed up with a mentor.
"He's definitely more out of his shell," said Martinez. "I hear from his teachers he's laughing, and he's much more interactive with his classmates and teachers."
Even the kids will say moments with a mentor mean the world.
"If I need to talk to my lunch buddy about something, it'll make me feel better," said Levi, a mentee.
For more information on Pinellas County School mentor programs, click here.
