Hank Richard supports judge’s mentoring program

Hank Richard, a member of St. Paul Parish and co-founder of Kingdom Builders Men's Ministry, is supporting an effort by Summit County Common Pleas Judge Brenda Burnham-Unruh to seek mentors for wayward youth.

To accomplish her mission to keep low-felony offenders who have been placed on probation from going to prison or ending up dead, Unruh is launching the One Life at a Time mentorship program. She is asking local pastors and church leaders to begin finding mentors in their congregations who want to be part of the program.

A story about her efforts by Beacon Journal religion writer Colette M. Jenkins appears on page B1 of the newspaper today.

Today, she and Akron Municipal Court Judge Annalisa Williams are hosting a breakfast for pastors in the dining room at the Haven of Rest to explain why they believe the program is a good idea and how their churches can get involved.

“Our organization is building an army of men to answer the call that Judge Unruh has put out to mentor young men,'' Richard said, ''because we believe if the men of the church of Christ don't stand up, we're going to lose a generation, Men of Christ can show these guys how to find hope and once they have hope, they can see a better way to do things.''

Richard said he believes secular men with good hearts can also be used as mentors, but Christian men have an obligation to minister to the lost.

A training session for mentors will be held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. May 3 at Mount Calvary Baptist Church, 442 Bell St. in Akron. Mentors will be paired with volunteers from Unruh's and Williams' courts after the training is complete.

Each mentor will be asked to commit to having weekly contact with a volunteer for a year, helping him build a support network.

''We can't make participation in the program mandatory, but we can suggest it and offer it as an opportunity,'' Unruh said. ''The great message in all of this is that the community is coming together voluntarily to commit to our young men who have made some bad choices. I don't know where this will take us, but I'm taking it one step at a time by faith.''

For more information about the program or the training, call 330-643-2233.

Judge Unruh is the daughter of the Rev. David Burnham, who served as pastor of The Chapel in Akron for 26 years.,

Click on the headline to read the full story by Jenkins.