On this edition of Progress + Promise, we look at the role mentoring can play in the life of a young person.

Pensacolians have always given to others when asked. A recent town hall meeting about the struggles of Warrington Middle School included call to the parents and the community to take a larger role in helping the students there get ahead.

While the needs are great at Warrington, students across Escambia County are in line waiting for the help of a mentor. That’s why we wanted to highlight a couple of the great programs in our community that aim to pair young people with a mentor to give them the guidance to improve their lives.

With us today will be Sally Lee and Paula Shell. Sally runs the Take Stock in Children mentoring program, which gives qualified students the chance to earn a college scholarship by keeping their grades up and keeping out of trouble.

Paula is the CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northwest Florida, which this year is celebrating 25 years of pairing “bigs” and “littles” together to give young people a mentor they need.