Starting a program
I would like to start of mentoring program in our town where elementary age children (special needs and regular ed) are mentored by their peers (elementary age and older teens).
I'm looking for advice on starting a program and ideas to keep it running. Thanks!
Hi there! There are many aspects to developing the type of peer mentoring program you are talking about. I think the biggest things to consider are:
1) Where will matches meet. Ideally these programs meet at the younger student's campus.
2) Who will supervise them when they do meet. This is usually based on whether the program is during or after school.
3) How will the older students get to the meeting location. If they are older students in the same school, this is obviously less of a problem.
4) What will they do together? You mention that you want this to be fun, and that's appropriate for the age range. But they will still need activities and other tasks to keep them engaged.
5) Will they meet one on one or in groups? If it's in groups, will they be paired up, or will several older students work with groups of younger students?
Obviously there is more than that to consider, but I think those are they key things. We developed a free resource here called Building Effective Peer Mentoring Programs in Schools: An Introductory Guide (just click the link to download the PDF). It was written for programs using HS students to mentor elementary students, but it could be adapted for different ages.
You can find some other free downloads on peer mentoring on our website here: http://educationnorthwest.org/resource/367
Let me know if you need anything more specific. There are some other curricula out there (not online) that might help you plan your program. Best of luck, and feel free to post more questions here as you get going.
We have a program that has been in operation four years but we have as yet to receive any funding other than community donations. Often, we receive messages from MENTOR about conferences and also we receive word that other places receive huge grants. Our program, though small, requires that all involved pay out-of-pocket for everything. We are totally volunteer from the coordinator to the mentors. Are there any suggestions on how to receive additional money other than asking the coordinator (me) or the mentors to open their pocketbooks further?
Hi
I recently joined a Mentoring group for disadvantaged youth in South Africa. It is a completely voluntary program and at the moment but it falls under the City of Johannesburg Municipality Youth Development Directorate. we have just formed a Steering Committe to run with the program. We will be focusing on Fund Raising,Marketing and so on.
How do we go about getting everything of the ground and putting systems and procedures in place so that everything runs smoothly and maybe in future be able to get funding directly from the Municipality it self.
Also we need help compiling a strategy for the programme. Any ideas??
Hi,
Congratulations on your group's plans to start a mentoring program. Some resources to get started can be found on the National Mentoring Center website at: http://educationnorthwest.org/resource/360
Good luck!
Good for you - you're setting off on a challenging, satisfying journey!
I believe that your first step should be to clearly define a set of goals based on what you think you could actually achieve within the next 6 months, one year, 2 years, given the people involved right now who are actively moving the program forward (including what they're able to contribute, human talent-wise).
Next, think about what kind of programming could achieve those goals, and then refine your list by examining what resources you have right now. My husband and I created and ran an arts mentoring program for almost 2 decades (my husband is a jazz pianist/teacher), and an arts mentoring program can have awesome results, done right! It's youth empowerment at its best. We've put together a toolkit for other organizations wanting to do what we did - particularly grassroots community programs. Please visit www.merge-education.com if you'd like to learn more.
We are currently developing a free white paper on how to build a program, elaborating on what I've suggested here - if you email me I'll be happy to send it to you when it's ready. Good luck - it's wonderful what you're doing!
This link points to a video and animation that show how volunteers can be transformed into leaders if they are well supported and stay multiple years in a tutor/mentor program. http://www.tutormentorexchange.net/chicagoland-volunteer-recruitment/177...
If the design of your program encourages volunteers who have full-time jobs in area companies to become tutors/mentors who meet with youth weekly and stay more than one year, then those volunteers can become your best fund raisers as they reach out to their business, friends and family. Some of the volunteers may become leaders and even future members of your board of directors. Now that we all have access to social media, volunteers who join you in one year could still be connected to you and your program in future years, regardless of where they live. If you keep nourishing those volunteers many will grow in the way the support you and your students.
By design I mean that the program needs to operate in hours that make it possible for volunteers to come each week, and in places where volunteers and youth feel safe to meet. The program needs to offer socializing activities that not only help youth and volunteers bond and build relationships, but also helps the volunteers build social relationships with each other and become involved in the planning and organizational development for the program.
If you browse the articles on the http://www.tutormentorexchange.net site and http://tutormentor.blogspot.com you'll see that our goal is to relieve some of the burden of finding the money and volunteers from the program organizers and put it on local businesses, colleges and others who want the same outcome for kids as the program does. This means we need to educate donors on what a tutor/mentor program is and what the benefits are to youth and the volunteers, and to the community.
Your web site needs to do this, showing what your vision is, your strategy/theory of change, and showing stories that take place each week that support this strategy.
Hope this helps you. For those who are in the Chicago region or midwest we share these ideas and connect program leaders with each other in a Tutor/Mentor Conference held every May and November. The next is May 19 and 20 and will be in Matteson, Il. See http://www.tutormentorconference.org
I am looking to start a mentoring program for youth ages 13-17 in a rural area of South Carolina. The youth of the town do not have anything to do and as a result are getting into trouble with the law.
The town does is located 45 minutes from the nearst city and transportation is one of the challenges the teens face. I have spoken to business owners, clergy and government officials in town and they have agreed to mentor children.
I would like to offer mentorship to include youth empowerment, college prepration. Do you have any suggestions for beginning a program to include funding?
Thank you,
Wanda
Hi Wanda! You can find a lot of useful program planning resources on our website here: http://educationnorthwest.org/resource/360
Best of luck with your program!
I am interested in starting a faith based mentoring program for youth and adolescents age 6 years through 24. The program will group age appropriate youth and adolescents together and incorporate spiritual, social and academic development as the primary focus of this program. The venue will be St. Sabina Church located on Chicago's south side in the Auburn/Gresham communities. Please provide some information on getting started for developing a new program. We have received funding for this project and are in process of recruiting mentors for our program. I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Vincent D. Silmon,Sr
Hi Vincent! I emailed you about this off the Forums, but in case anyone else is interested, I recommend these faith-based program development resources:
- Building a Successful Faith Based Mentoring Program (published by Florida Governor's Faith-based Mentoring Program)
- FASTEN Mentoring Programs Toolkit: Equipping Your Organization for Effective Outreach (published by FASTEN)
- Governor's Mentoring Initiative with Faith-Based Organizations Toolkit (published by Florida Governor's Faith-based Mentoring Program)
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