Sometimes mentoring doesn't look like a mentoring program. In January, 2008 acting teacher Ben Hodge started talking with his students about problems the students were seeing at their York County high school. He encouraged them to write stories about their experiences. Then Hodge, music teacher Nick Curry and the students crafted them into monologues. Reach: There Is A Better Way premiered as a play in May 2008. In January 2010, a full length DVD was produced.

Ben Hodge talks about how the REACH project got started:

See clips from the DVD here:

In the process of writing, reflecting, acting, and sharing, the students formed significant mentoring,
relationships with their teachers and with each other, older students sharing with younger ones,
discussing topics that it would be easier to pretend didn't exist.
Ben Hodge talks about why the Reach project was meaningful to students:

Ben Hodge discusses why the Arts are an asset in mentor relationships:

Ben Hodge shares what he has learned about himself in this process and about the students he works with:

One of the participants in REACH, Mary McCleary, talks about what it meant to be involved in the project:

Mary McCleary shares how having a mentor and being in this project changed her:

Another participant, John Dumpman, discusses what it meant to him to have a mentor:

John Dumpman shares some advice for adults:

For more information about Reach: There Is A Better Way DVD or to find out about upcoming performances, contact Ben Hodge, Ben Hodge Studios, at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .