VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) — Across Virginia Beach City Public Schools, former teachers who are also former coaches have formed a mentorship program for children and entire families in need of support.

What the volunteer mentors of Renaissance Academy offer isn’t part of the high school curriculum.

“When we talk to the kids, we do emphasize love, because, like I emphasized, the money aspect is not a part of why we’re here,” said Thaddeus Harold, a retired teacher and former football and track and field coach. “We’re here to mentor, to help, to direct.”

The mentors were saddened last month when police chief Paul Neudigate announced that five murders in Virginia Beach this year are linked to Renaissance Academy, an alternative education center for students in grades 6 through 12.

“Well, with our society in our world today, any time that we lose anymore, it’s just heart-wrenching,” said mentor Ricky Hailey, a retired school counselor who also coached high school football and basketball players. “And when you see that young people are victims of gun violence, it really tears at your heart.”

Mentor Mark Butts, a Virginia Wesleyan University basketball Hall of Famer, gave one mentee traveling rules for the summer.

“I met with my mentee for the last time last week,” said Butts, who spent 38 years in the classroom. “And I told them … you’ve got to think about what we talked about, your goals and and and each one of them. I told him the goal for each day is to stay out of trouble.”

Gary Cason, the leader of Coaching Skills for Life and a former teacher and basketball coach, is looking for partners who can offer trouble-free activities and inspiration.

“The [School] Resource Officers and Youth Services Officers can help us in the community; I think that’s powerful,” Cason said. “Coach Butts and I met this past week with the Boys and Girls Club CEO and that was great. One of the outcomes was again, building positive partnerships so that our kids would have something constructive to do throughout the summer.”

Collectively, the four mentors represent 150 years of experience in classrooms and thousands of hours of basketball courts, football fields and running tracks. Their services are free but the payout is priceless. Harold recently reconnected with one of his kids.

“I just had one yesterday at a track meet,” Harold said. “He’s going to college to run. He was very, very appreciative of what I did for him.”

Mentors are just a phone call away at the school known as R.A. If your Virginia Beach student needs help or if you can offer help, contact Gary Cason at 757-275-8633, or via email at coachingskills4life@gmail.com.