GUILFORD COUNTY, N.C. (WGHP) — For the past few weeks, eight men in the community have volunteered their time to be mentors for young children at the Washington Montessori Elementary School in Greensboro.

The program Recess Buddies is spearheaded by principal Paul Travers. He said the program is meant to help reduce the number of disciplinary actions in class from students.

“Since we’ve had recess buddies, no behavior issues at all, no disciplinary issues at all. The correlation continues to be when we have structure, when we have people from the community come and pour in during recess, we don’t have issues. We don’t have conflict,” Travers said.

So far, the program has eight men who work as mentors and father figures to the students, helping them to work through conflicts and resolve problems.

The program is for 30 minutes a day, five days a week and has a wide range of times for people to volunteer time.

Travers told FOX8 the program is seeing success with the positive change in student behavior in classrooms.

Philip Thomas is a Recess Buddy and said giving a small amount of time can mean the world in molding a student to become a better citizen.

“Being a parent of your own kid is the most important thing you can be doing, so to be able to help out and be a mentor or a parent in a way to other kids. It’s just a privilege. I count it as a blessing,” Thomas said.

Thomas said for now, the Recess Buddy program may be small but is ready to make a big impact on the future generations in Greensboro.

“This is an opportunity where you give back to kids and have an impact that will be a legacy worth of lifetime…influencing students for the rest of their lives,” Thomas said.

If you want to become a Recess Buddy, contact Washington Montessori Elementary School and inquire about the process.