SOUTH BEND — In years past, doling out 1,000 tickets to mentors for a Notre Dame women’s basketball game was a tall order for Christine Pochert.

It’s getting a little easier these days.

“We used to just give away blocks of 100 to the YMCA because we couldn’t get rid of them all,” said Pochert, the director of the South Bend Community School Corp.’s Dream Team Mentoring Program. “We didn’t have to do that this year and all we have is 10 tickets left.”

Saturday was the mentoring program’s annual mentor-student outing to a women’s basketball game. Mentors and their students attended the game together. Notre Dame defeated Seton Hall, 70-55, at the Joyce Center.

Since a major push this past summer, the corporation has significantly increased the number of mentors and volunteer readers in its schools. Superintendent Robert L. Zimmerman wants that number to eventually reach 6,000.

The corporation is a long way from that goal, but Joyce Center sections 101, 102, 117 and 118 on Saturday provided a glimpse at how far the mentor program has come. Those sections were filled with mentors and the students they visit for an hour each week.

From section 101, 9-year-old Joshua McFarland watched his first Notre Dame basketball game with his mom, Roxie, and his new mentor, Scott Truitt.

Joshua is a third-grader at Nuner Primary Center.

“Josh has talked about this game for the last two weeks,” Roxie McFarland said. “I think having a mentor has been really good for Josh. He loves to talk, so if he has somebody to talk with him, he’s a happy camper.

“And if it makes him happy, it makes me happy.”

There were plenty of mentor stories to go around Saturday.

Rob Jagger first became Preston Darnell’s mentor five years ago. When Preston, now 13, moved away to Three Oaks a couple years back, the two figured that would be it.

But when Preston and his family moved back to South Bend this year, he asked about Jagger. After a few phone calls by Pochert the two are now reunited at Jefferson Intermediate Center.

They eat lunch together on Friday’s and sometimes go to the school library. They always look forward to the basketball games.

“I think this program is real important,” Jagger said. “Otherwise, I wouldn’t do it.”

Mentor Andrea Miller and her student, Aalaysiah Frazier, 8, a second-grader at Madison Primary Center, also attended Saturday’s game together.

During their visits at Madison, Aalaysiah is the memory game champion of the world.

“She always beats me,” Miller said. “Every time.”

Aalaysiah flashes a quick smile before carefully placing a perfectly dipped cheese nacho into her mouth.

The two have been meeting since the beginning of the school year. Miller says there really isn’t much to it.

“It’s been great,” Miller said. “I just show up and am her friend.”

Tammy Berebitsky is a counselor at Adams High School. Zimmerman encouraged all of the corporation’s employees to mentor a student this year.

Berebitsky heeded the challenge and began mentoring Candace Williams, 14, an eighth-grader at Edison Intermediate Center, this school year.

“She’s my hero,” Candace said of Berebitsky. “I’ve been talking to her about all my problems. It’s the way she listens to me that makes me feel comfortable.”

The two eat lunch together on Fridays. Berebitsky will often bring in food from McDonalds.

Both said they hope to continue their friendship next year when Candace is a freshman at Adams.

“I’d like that,” Berebitsky said. “I’ll be easy to find.”