At age 11, Josh Waltman wasn’t looking for a second family. He just wanted a buddy who would help get him out of the house.

That, however, was 12 years, two Sharps and one Y-Mentoring program ago.

Now 23, the Albany man is still an honorary member of the program, sponsored by the Mid-Willamette Family YMCA. The connection he forged with his adult mentor, Corry Sharp, was so strong that it continued even after Corry’s death from cancer in 2001.

Josh and Corry’s wife, Helen Burns Sharp, will be the featured speakers this morning at the YMCA’s annual meeting, talking about the mentoring program and its importance in their lives.

“I think Corry would be pleased that we’re still together,” Helen said.

In his 1996 application to be a part of the mentoring program, Josh said he wanted an adult friend who was funny, smart and would “keep their promise to do special things with me.”

The Y linked him with Corry, who already had been a mentor to two other boys. They got together weekly, usually at the Sharp house. They’d talk, play rummy and maybe make a snack. Corry, a master cook and backyard chef, liked to share what he knew.

Josh moved to Washington in 2000 to live with his brother and lost touch with the Sharps. When he came to Albany for a visit in October 2001, he stopped by and learned that Corry had died.

It was a shock, Josh said, something he couldn’t fully take in. Helen urged him to keep in touch. When he moved back to Albany permanently a few weeks later, he did.

Helen picked up where Corry left off, seeing Josh through completion of his General Education Development certificate, giving him financial planning advice and talking him out of various body piercings (“There’s no pictures, no evidence of that, just to let you know,” Josh insists). In turn, Josh helped clean out gutters, rake leaves and put up the Sharp family Christmas lights.

The two still get together a couple of times a week, either by phone or in person. Helen, now retired from her position as Albany’s community development director, often brings Josh along on Rotary or city volunteer projects. He keeps an eye out for the state quarters she collects.

When she moves back to her home state of Tennessee this fall, he’ll drive the U-Haul and spend some time in the state both she and Corry loved.

Without the Sharps, Josh figures he’d be “working in a dead-end job that I hated,” instead of being a state employee taking college-level writing classes. He saw many of his friends become fathers very young and credits Corry’s influence for helping him put off those decisions. And, he said, “I still like to cook.”

The great thing about the mentoring program, Helen said, is that its benefits go both ways. She counts Josh as a family member now and included his story in a memoir she commissioned about Corry’s life. Josh also has been teaching her how to send text messages on her cell phone — after she finally figured out how to read the one he sent.

“I found it two years later. He had wished me a happy New Year,” Helen said. “I’m soon going to learn how to respond.”

“A lot of bridging-the-gap-between-the-generations things,” Josh said with a smile.

Although he isn’t sure when he’ll be able to commit the time, Josh said he would like to become a mentor himself, to give to the program what he’s been given.

“I think it made me who I am today,” he said.

Volunteers needed

The Mid-Willamette Family YMCA needs adult volunteers, particularly men, to join its Y-Mentoring program.

Volunteers are paired with a child between the ages of 8 and 17 and commit to spending some time each week with that child for a year.

Now in its 16th year, the program has 40 junior-senior matches in Albany, Lebanon and Sweet Home and “lunch buddy” programs at middle schools in Lebanon and Albany.

Children come voluntarily, referred by schools or other youth agencies. Currently, 17 boys are on the waiting list, said Kathleen Magnuson, YMCA youth and family services director.

The idea is to increase the child’s social support system, give him someone to talk to and someone he can count on, Magnuson said. It’s not about spending money on huge special events or becoming the child’s surrogate counselor.

“We really try to advocate and promote that it’s about being friends,” she said. “It’s really just about sharing what you already know.“

For more information, contact Magnuson at the YMCA, (541) 926-4488, ext. 306.