Ortonville- Castina Bombardo knows that if you want a friend, you need to be one.
The Brandon Fletcher Intermediate School sixth-grader is passing that knowledge on as a participant in the LINK program.
‘We are teaching a girl in our grade how to act like a sixth-grader, and how to be nice to people and have manners,? says Castina. ‘We teach her if you want to have friends, you have to be a friend. I’m a friend to her.?
Castina is one of 15 girls who were rewarded May 23 with a lunch at A & W Restaurant and a craft at Art of Life for their efforts in befriending and showing proper social skills to the girl, who is cognitively disabled.
‘Basically, we’re linking students who have good friendship and social skills with students who may have problems,? said BFIS Social Worker Joyce Wilkerson, of the LINK program. ‘These students have volunteered to spend lunch and recess with this girl to model appropriate behavior. It has made a world of difference in the child’s behavior and her ability to relate to other kids.?
The program started last year at the intermediate school, and Wilkerson said several similar programs are in place at the elementary schools. Originally designed for autistic students, the program is now also used for students who are cognitively impaired or don’t have friends. The program is also a benefit to the volunteers, says Wilkerson, because helping others is a great way to build self-esteem.
‘It makes me feel happy to help other people who need it,? says Castina. ‘If there are people being mean to her, we stand up for her.?