Walk With Sally’s 2019 Mentor of the Year Award
We at Walk With Sally are beyond privileged to call this woman a member of our community. She is an incredible mentor and has given back in a number of other ways beyond just that, this is why we felt she had to be honored as this year’s Mentor of the Year.
Paulina joined Walk With Sally in 2017 while she was searching for a way to give back to a charity dealing with cancer in her own community. She stumbled upon our mentoring program and knew she could relate to mentees as another young person who has lost a loved one to cancer. On July 28, 2017 Paulina was matched with Arleth, a 9 year old girl whose mom had been battling lung cancer and was looking for a mentor to spend time with who could better understand what cancer meant. Their inseparable bond began forming from that first meeting.
Throughout their time together Paulina and Arleth have become a constant fixture in our community by participating in everything from HeArt To Home to Surf Day. This friendship has laughed together during our Friendship Activity at Mulligan’s and dressed up for our Friendship Bowl. In fact, Paulina went above and beyond the call of duty as a mentor and fundraised to help support our programs during our annual Friendship Bowl campaign. She’s even attended White Light White Night and became a member of the FTK Social Club all while maintaining her important monthly communication with Walk With Sally staff to ensure her friendship with Arleth is thriving.
Sadly, in September 2018, Paulina had to help Arleth through a situation she had hoped wouldn’t come, her mother Iselda passed away from cancer. Paulina was there for the family and helped to bring light to a dark time for her mentee. Miguel, Arleth’s dad, put it beautifully when he said “Paulina has been the best mentor to my daughter and my family. She’s been so kind and helpful in this difficult time, I appreciate so much Paulina. Thank you so much for your support and everything you’ve done!”
Thank YOU Paulina for being an outstanding member of our Walk With Sally community. These are all of the reasons, and many more we couldn’t put in this short post, why you were selected as our 2019 Mentor of the Year!
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If you or someone you know is interested in making a difference in a child’s life who has been impacted by cancer, click below to get started on your path to becoming a mentor like Paulina. Just 6-8 hours a month could mean the world to a child like Arleth.
