New Millwood nonprofit aims to make positive impact on youth in West Valley School District

A new nonprofit organization is trying to make a positive effect on Millwood students by offering after-school activities and matching participants with mentors.

Millwood Impact is headed by Millwood Presbyterian Church youth director Brandon Comella, who plans to leave his job this week to become the executive director of the new nonprofit full time. However, he will continue to have an office in the church.

“It is a nonreligious nonprofit in partnership with Millwood Presbyterian, the (West Valley) school district, Hutton Settlement and HUB Sports,” Comella said.

As part of Comella’s transition, he will be transferring two youth programs from the church to Millwood Impact. He hopes to be able to expand the after-school programs to include more students and a mentor for each student.

“The goals and dreams I had about expanding what we do, the church is unable to fund,” he said. “I’ve seen a lot of power in mentorship. That’s what we do a lot with our youth program.”

The programs the new nonprofit will take over are tied closely to the West Valley School District. Comella said in addition to his work at Millwood Presbyterian he’s served on the West Valley truancy board for seven years.

“We are really connected to the community,” he said. “The school district saw us as an extension of what they do.”

The church has been offering an after-school Star Club program at its community center every Monday and Wednesday to select students who attend the third through fifth grades at Orchard Center Elementary, and that program will be taken over by Millwood Impact.

Students are referred to the program by teachers and counselors at Orchard Center, and the school buses the students to the community center. The program includes stations for crafts, sewing, cooking, science and homework through which students rotate.

The idea is to help vulnerable students create a stable bond with a caring adult who can help them navigate through life, Comella said. “We should provide students a safe place to come,” he said. “Many of them come from single parent homes. The students we work with come from families and situations of trauma.”

The key to the program is the mentors, Comella said. “The mentors are there just to be with the kids,” he said. “My job is to provide and equip adult mentors to work with students. The goal is to expand that. We need more mentors.”

In addition to being limited by the number of available mentors the program is capped at 16 students because of the limited space available on the bus, Comella said. He is applying for grant funding to help purchase a 12-passenger van so the program can be expanded once more mentors are found.

Comella said he wants to organize the students into teams of four and have one or two mentors per group. People who sign up to be mentors will be provided with training, but Comella said he asks people to commit to being a mentor for at least two years. Children are used to adults coming and going in their lives and there needs to be enough time for a mentor to create a deeper relationship with the child, he said.

The HUB 360 program for middle school students hosted at HUB Sports every Tuesday and Thursday will also be taken over by Millwood Impact. The 15 students currently in the program have also been referred by their school. Each session includes snacks and homework time as well as speakers designed to showcase different career possibilities.

“My goal is to find mentors for them as well,” he said.

The goal is to expand each program to between 25 and 30 students. Comella said that likely won’t happen until the fall because he needs time to find and train new mentors as well as secure enough funding for the van.

Those interested in becoming mentors can contact Comella at info@millwoodimpact.org.

Millwood Presbyterian has been hosting a monthly community meal for Millwood residents and Comella said his nonprofit will also take that over. He hopes to be able to expand it to weekly meals.

“The after-school programs are completely nonreligious,” he said. “The same with the community meal. That’s why we wanted to put it under the umbrella of Millwood Impact.”

There could be additional programs added to Millwood Impact in the future.

“Our goal is to come alongside and see what the needs of the community are,” he said. “We’re excited to see what else is on the horizon.”