![\"Thornton](\"https:\/\/missiontimescourier.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Thornton-Tina.jpg\")
<\/a>\u201cTina brings a passion to what she is doing,\u201d said Ross Ramos, a volunteer coordinator with the Foster Youth Mentor Program. \u201cShe is our most valuable volunteer partner.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thornton\u2019s faith and background fuel her passion.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy parents were always finding a way to serve their community, to work with their church, to do whatever they could to help others,\u201d said Thornton, who added that knowing a couple of foster children while she was growing up sparked her interest in working with foster youth.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese kids are moving from house to house, moving in with strangers, they don\u2019t know what school they\u2019ll be attending tomorrow or where they\u2019re going to be,\u201d she said. \u201cThese kids are facing the sort of challenges nobody should have to face.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thornton is able to devote up to 10 hours a week or more with the young men she mentors even though she is immersed in her studies at Grossmont College. She will earn a certificate this June through the rigorous 20-week, Office Professional Training Program, with a specialization in accounting.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s really a well-developed program,\u201d said Thornton, who is aiming to redefine her career as an accountant. \u201cEveryone on the faculty is personally invested in seeing you succeed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mary Leslie, a professor in the Office Professional Training Program, said Thornton\u2019s volunteer spirit extends to Grossmont College. \u201cShe\u2019s always eager to lend a hand wherever it\u2019s needed,\u201d Leslie said, noting Thornton\u2019s myriad efforts include helping with an April 30 Clothing Boutique that provides gently used professional outfits for students in the program to wear in interviews or on the job. \u201cShe deserves all the recognition in the world for what she does.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thornton said she had undergone the training to become a foster parent \u2013 and still plans someday on becoming one \u2013 but opted against it at the time.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m a single woman, I was working crazy hours. It just wouldn\u2019t work,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
When she heard about the Foster Youth Mentor Program, however, she was in.<\/p>\n
The younger brother she mentors told KFMB television that Thornton was a godsend when she came into his life.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just wanted to have someone that I could relate to, just talk to about how I feel, to understand where I’m coming from and it was a perfect match,\u201d the youth identified as Daniel, told the news station. \u201cBack then, I needed more of a mom figure than a dad.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thornton said the biggest challenge for most mentors is building trust with their mentees. \u201cThey have been through a lot of trauma,\u201d she said. \u201cYou start building that trust just by showing up.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mentors do far more than just show up, however. They can spend an entire Saturday or Sunday with a youth, doing everything from going to a street fair or for a hike to providing career guidance and discussing what healthy relationships look like.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s an incredible feeling to know that you\u2019ve played a role in helping a person re-establish a foundation.\u201d<\/p>\n