Meeting and minting mentors

"Drop it on my head," Jim Marsh encouraged students as they took turns arcing a basketball toward the 6-foot-7-inch former Portland Trail Blazer's sandy hair. An impromptu way to teach the kids how to shoot baskets, the exercise is also something else: a way for Marsh to connect, a way for him to mentor.

"I'm passionate about basketball and passionate about sharing what I know," Marsh said. "That's what mentoring is about — putting the wind in somebody's sails. In this case, the wind is basketball."

Saturday, he was not just mentoring to a group of them; he was also teaching them by example how to mentor others during the third annual Guiding Lights Weekend.

Held at Seattle Center, the event attracted more than 750 adults and youths. Its aim was to inspire them to develop the creativity to successfully mentor others.

Marsh's workshop attracted sports fans, including Nathan Kitchell, a 10th-grade basketball player at a Spokane alternative school.

"I'm looking to be a mentor ... to get a better opportunity in life," said Kitchell, smiling and playing with his dreadlocks. Influencing and being influenced by others "in a positive way" is what he sees mentoring doing for him.

Sponsored by the Seattle Center and others, the event is the brainchild of Eric Liu, author of the book "Guiding Lights: How to Mentor — and Find Life's Purpose." A former speechwriter for President Clinton, Liu now teaches at the University of Washington's Evans School of Public Affairs.

"There are thousands of youth in our state in need of mentors and guidance to help them discover and achieve their dreams. Guiding Lights Weekend is designed to help develop the mentor in all of us by asking, 'Who influenced you?' and 'How do you meaningfully pass it on?' " said Liu.

Washington state has more than 27,000 volunteer mentors, according to the nonprofit group Washington State Mentors. But more than 250,000 kids remain in need of a mentoring relationship, it estimates.

"As a mentor you help others unlock what's possible," said Liu. "There's a universal DNA to be a great mentor in the community. You don't have to have a 'people job,' but you have to have a 'people mind-set.' "

That means appreciating that although others may have different backgrounds, each has worth that a mentor can help develop.

That's been Mary Erickson's experience. She's being honored during Guiding Lights Weekend as King County's Outstanding Mentor of the Year for her work with a young African woman.

A Mercer Island florist, Erickson decided three years ago that she wanted to give back to the community. So she agreed to help a refugee from Rwanda whose family was killed during that country's civil war.

Arriving here, the young woman needed a mentor to help her finish high school at Garfield and make the transition to college. Now a 22-year-old UW freshman, she was assaulted near campus earlier this month in a random attack that has left her hospitalized with serious head injuries. Her name is being withheld because her assailant has not been caught.

Erickson has helped the woman with everything from finding housing and jobs to taking a typing class and applying for scholarships. But as much as she's helped the student, the young woman has also enriched Erickson's life.

"I had very little knowledge of people from other cultures, people who lived through genocide," Erickson said, and how strength can develop from the worst of circumstances.

"She's inspiring," Erickson said of the student. "She's one of the most resourceful people I've ever met. Everyone who meets her is bowled over by her kindness. I think I'll always be in contact with her."

Elizabeth Rhodes: erhodes@seattletimes.com