Litchfield City Council renewed its commitment to helping young people reach their potential Dec. 21 when it unanimously approved a $5,000 donation to Litchfield Area Mentorship Program.

“We were hoping to postpone this (request for funding), hoping we could have made it through 2009 without asking for a second installment of the $5,000 that we asked for over a year ago,” said Jim Ellingson, chairman of the LAMP board of directors. “But we do need to ask for it now.”

LAMP was founded in late 2007 with the aim of matching adult mentors with middle-school-aged children who needed an adult role model in their lives. LAMP’s volunteer board of directors sought grants to help fund programs and the hiring of a program director, but the group also requested funding from the city and from Meeker County.

Litchfield City Council approved a three-year commitment to LAMP by making its first $5,000 donation in May 2008.