TheBakersfieldCalifornian.com

Emmanuel Rodriguez loves playing football and watching the New York Jets. The shy eighth-grader's affinity for math is apparent as he plays a game of dominos on a recent afternoon at the Goodwill building in downtown Bakersfield.

Javier Rizo, 45, is an energetic case manager for Good Samaritan Hospital. His children have grown and moved out, so he's sitting opposite Emmanuel much like he does each week.

Yet the two probably never would have crossed paths if it weren't for Goodwill Industries.

The well-known nonprofit organization's GoodGuides program, which was launched in January in more than 50 locations nationwide, has established 20 mentoring pairs in Bakersfield for youths needing more adult support.

The program is designed to get 12- to 17-year-old kids like Emmanuel thinking about, among other things, the transition from textbooks to checkbooks.

"There are a lot of really awesome mentoring programs keeping kids happy, and that's great," says program coordinator Tammy Reynolds. "But we try to ask, 'What does your future look like as a productive adult in society?'"

The project is paid for by a grant of nearly $300,000 from the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention to the local Goodwill region, which includes all of Kern County as well as Kings County and the southern half of Tulare County.

The money will cover costs through November 2011, Reynolds said. Goodwill hopes another DOJ grant will keep the program afloat after that date, although it is also looking for alternative funding sources.

Participants are usually referred to Goodwill by teachers or guidance counselors, Reynolds said, but they are also allowed to submit their own applications.

"I wanted to do it," Emmanuel says softly before recalling an incident in which he talked back to his aunt. "To make better choices."

First the youngsters must answer questions about school, share their hobbies and interests and interview with program staffers away from their guardians.

Meanwhile, the mentors -- who range from teachers and business professionals to college students and retirees -- must go through interviews, background checks, an orientation and several hours of training before pairing off with the students.

The matching process is not an exact science but has worked well so far, Reynolds said. "We look for people who are not going to be judgmental."

Mentors and youth in the program then meet face-to-face at least once a week as part of their nine-month commitment, Reynolds said.

The get-togethers -- at diners, art museums and baseball games, for instance -- are meant to be as organic as possible. Just before school started, for example, the youngsters met with their mentors for a bowling party. Many of the participants will attend a Condors hockey game Nov. 3.

GoodGuides also coordinates two hours per month of structured life-skills activities on everything from anger management and nutrition to building a resume and dressing for an interview.

Ramandeep Rai, another participant and a graduating senior at West High, loves the individual attention she gets through GoodGuides.

"Teachers can't take time with you to see a campus," says Rai, who visited Cal State Bakersfield after school Tuesday with her mentor, Sharon Borradori. "It's much more hands-on."