Original KingFest kicks off National Mentoring Month in Pine Bluff

PINE BLUFF, Ark. – In honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, one Pine Bluff organization is celebrating the holiday with a kick-off event focused on mentoring.

Pine Bluff Interested Citizens for Voter Registration hosted the start of Original KingFest to promote January as National Mentoring Month.

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Fifty high school and junior high students from the Pine Bluff area were invited to take part with speakers sharing the mission of Dr. King as they work to honor his legacy.

One past participant said he could feel the impact in the room.

“What I saw was the impact of mentoring, how mentoring can help a child get to the next level in life, not just beyond high school, but throughout college,” Timothy Mitchell, a deacon with Rose Hill Missionary Baptist Church, said.

Participants were selected by their schools to attend the event and were treated to lunch as part of the kickoff.

High schoolers mentoring elementary students in new Little Rock School District program

This is the 40th anniversary for the Original KingFest.

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