Wegmans Day of Caring volunteers from left are Josh Mahar, Casey Foti, Georgia Mason, Krystyna Muniz and Kim Morris.

A group of Wegmans employees spent a Saturday volunteering in a Day of Caring at Jamestown High School where they cleaned, painted, organized and put together furniture to make the Chautauqua Striders mentoring classroom look inviting and feel welcoming.

Wegmans and Chautauqua Striders have enjoyed a long partnership in which several of their employees volunteer as mentors for Jamestown High School students. As mentors, they encourage and guide students, serve as role models, and show their mentees that they care about them by meeting with them over lunch each week in the mentoring room, engaging in conversation and doing activities together.

When one of the Wegmans mentors was meeting with her mentee last month, she noticed that the room could use a little TLC. Caring is one of Wegman’s core values and they saw this day as an opportunity to put caring into action. Students’ expressions were priceless as they showed their delight upon entering the transformed classroom.

Chautauqua Striders has been dedicated to the mentoring and guidance of youth through education, advocacy and athletics since 1979. The agency offers tutoring, mentoring, social-emotional learning and athletic programming. Those interested in learning more about mentoring opportunities or becoming one yourself, visit chqstriders.org or call Erika at 716-489-3483.