Free State High School sophomore Bryce Page, foreground left, and Boys and Girls Club program manager Brian Franklin, right, established a friendship years ago at the club, and that mentoring relationship is now being passed on by Page, who volunteers at the center. The two were shown some support by a gathering of girls at the center on Sept. 11.

Most days after school, Free State High School sophomore Bryce Page can be found in the middle of the hullabaloo that is the Boys and Girls Club of Lawrence.

The brightly painted building on Haskell Avenue hosts games of pingpong, four square and even Wii baseball. It is there that Page mentors grade-school-aged children, helping them with homework or just playing a round of pool.

Looking on is Page’s own mentor, Brian Franklin, who is a program manager for the club.

Four years ago, Page was new to Lawrence and looking for friends. He decided to join the Boys and Girls Club. What he found was an unexpected mentor in Franklin, who was a counselor at the time.

“I had a lot of coaches throughout my life that were mentors to me, and they gave me a lot of good advice,” Franklin said. “So it is definitely one of the things I wanted to do — pass along the knowledge.”

The oldest of four boys, Page was glad to find a surrogate big brother.

“He is just someone to hang out with that I can go to when I need him,” Page said.

Research shows that children who are mentored, whether it’s informally or formally, are less likely to commit crimes, experiment with drugs or engage in sexual activity. And they are more likely to improve their grades and enroll in college.

“Really, it is just someone in the young person’s life that really has a caring attitude toward that young person and (wants to) make sure that they want to succeed,” said Ella Todd, the director of Kansas Mentors.

Mentoring programs across the state have seen their waiting lists grow and budgets decrease. But during tough economic times, mentoring is an inexpensive form of community service.

“It’s a wonderful way to give back if you don’t have money,” Todd said. “Even if you do have money, it is definitely a reward that you will benefit from just as much as the individual you are mentoring.”

For Franklin, his friendship with Page just happened.

“The right kid falls into your lap. And you just kind of have no choice but to be part of their life,” he said.

It helps that Franklin, who was a track and field athlete at Kansas University, and Page, who plays basketball and baseball, share the common bond of sports. But academics are “first and foremost.”

Today, Page passes on that advice to the students who come through the Boys and Girls Club.

“I am like, ‘School has to come first. You aren’t going to get anywhere without school,'” Page said.