Press Releases

2024-02-27

Mentoring Central Shares STEM Mentoring Research at 2024 National Mentoring Summit

Mentoring Central Researchers Dr. Katie Stump, Dr. Rebecca Stelter, and Yontii Wheeler co-led an interactive workshop at the 2024 National Mentoring Summit in Washington, DC, last month. Each year, mentoring professionals and advocates from across the nation gather for the annual National Mentoring Summit, convened by MENTOR, to share best practices, reflect on recent research and developments, and discuss future directions related to mentoring. The 14th annual Mentoring Summit was held January 24-26, 2024 and provided opportunities for attendees to form new connections and learn new strategies for strengthening and expanding the youth mentoring movement.

Read the full article…

2024-02-13

Mentoring Central President Presents at the 2024 National Mentoring Summit

Mentoring Central President Dr. Janis Kupersmidt co-led a workshop at the 14th annual National Mentoring Summit in Washington, DC, last month to discuss the need for additional training for mentors who are serving youth impacted by substance misuse.

Read the full article…

2024-01-19

Mentoring Central Welcomes New Research Intern

Mentoring Central is pleased to welcome Abbey Collins to its team of skilled, world-renowned researchers and creative professionals. Collins joined Mentoring Central, a division of iRT, this month as a research intern to contribute to the research and development of high-quality mentor trainings on topics related to cultural competency.

Read the full article…

2024-01-17

Mentor Training for Supporting Mentees During the Nationwide Addiction Crisis

The national opioid crisis has grown exponentially since 2020, possibly due to reduced access to interventions during the COVID-19 pandemic and the mental health crisis that followed. During a 12-month period between 2022 and 2023, the number of drug overdose deaths in the United States reached a record-high of approximately 109,000.1 In addition, trends in substance use have evolved in recent years, making it increasingly difficult to thwart the addiction crisis. Polysubstance use has become increasingly common, with rates of cocaine, methamphetamine, and fentanyl use rising alongside opioid use. Recent data has shown that 70-80% of people who are addicted to opioids also use other illicit substances.2

Read the full article…

2023-12-20

Plan My Ride Receives a LearnX Award for Best Accessibility

iRT is pleased to announce that it received the 2023 Diamond Award from LearnX® for Best Accessibility in the Best eLearning Design category for the Plan My Ride eLearning course.

Read the full article…

View all.

Events

Webinar: Applying the EEPM 4 to Diverse Models and Youth Populations [free]

Applying the EEPM 4 to Diverse Models and Youth Populations [free]

2/25/16 1-2:30pm EST

~ 75 minutes

Applying the EEPM 4 to Diverse Models and Youth Populations will provide attendees with an interactive discussion on how the Elements of Effective Practice applies to mentoring programs given the diverse array of mentee and mentor populations and program models. In addition, we will solicit questions and feedback from attendees regarding how the EEPM applies to their programs.

Take the free training at: Free Mentoring Central

[Webinar] Risk Management Part 2 – 1pm (EST) Feb. 16, 2016

Risky Business (Part 2): Developing your mentoring program’s risk management policies [free]

Take the Free Training at Free Mentoring Central

A mentoring relationship cannot be considered effective unless it is safe. Training on ethics and safety in mentoring is critical to ensuring the health and well-being of mentees and mentors. The recently released Fourth Edition of the Elements of Effective Practice for Mentoring (EEPM) identified a set of risk management topics that programs should address in their policies and include in their training of mentors, mentees, and parent or guardians. This three-part webinar series will focus on how mentoring programs can decrease the potential for harm to anyone involved in a mentoring relationship.

Join our expert researchers (Drs. Janis Kupersmidt and Rebecca Stelter) and practitioner (Ms. Sharon Daura) who will provide a thorough exploration of the 19 risk management topics outlined in the EEPM, with the goal of helping you to fine-tune your existing program policies or develop new ones.  After you attend these webinars, you will understand the importance and relevance of each topic for mentoring as well as key issues to address in your policies.  Future training will focus on how to conduct mentor, mentee, and parent or guardian training on these policies.

The second webinar in the series focuses on issues to consider in a mentoring program’s risk management policies and practices that are related to communications by mentors, mentees, parents or guardians, and the mentoring program with individuals, organizations, and media outlets that are outside of the mentoring relationship.

Celebrating 25 Years of the Youth Mentoring Movement

Monday, November 9, New York City—The National Mentoring Partnership (MENTOR) is proud to celebrate 25 years of building and unifying a youth mentoring movement in 2015! This yearlong celebration will include a special event at The Plaza Hotel on Monday, November 9 honoring MENTOR’s co-founders and commemorating a quarter of a century of milestones and achievements in the field. More on this celebration: bit.ly/1Hh0WIe.

Advanced Screening

November 17, Boston–Join Mass Mentoring Partnership for an advanced training that will build upon the basics of screening. Participants will have the opportunity to refine program eligibility requirements, receive feedback on program applications and interview forms, enhance awareness of red flags, and practice relevant steps in the screening process.  Participants will receive MMP’s Advanced Screening Workbook which contains useful tools and templates to support screening of volunteers and mentors. Register: bit.ly/1MP0gr1

National Mentoring Month: Amplifying Your Voice

November 19, 1 p.m. to 2:15 p.m., EDT–Planning to participate in National Mentoring Month this January? Join this webinar to learn best practices for amplifying your voice during this yearly recruitment campaign. We will feature panelists from Midlands Mentoring Partnership in Nebraska, TeamMates Mentoring in Iowa and Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Mid-South in Tennessee. Each presenter will speak on a different way to engage throughout the month. Whether you represent a small, mid-size or large program, there will be plenty of useful information shared. Register now! Facilitated by MENTOR. For more information: bit.ly/1k5bGjb

View all.

Blog

2024-02-27
Why Cultural Competency Training Should Be Offered to Mentors and Mentoring Program Staff

By eporter

Why Cultural Competency Training Should Be Offered to Mentors and Mentoring Program Staff

Abbey N. Collins, B.A

In the United States, the number of youth involved in mentoring programs has grown considerably over the past century since the establishment of the first organized mentoring programs such as Big Brothers Big Sisters of America.1,2 In particular, mentoring programs are popular interventions for a great number of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) youth.3,4 In fact, it is estimated that approximately 76% of the mentees served in the U.S. are BIPOC children and adolescents; however, the majority (53%) of the mentors who serve these populations are non-Hispanic White individuals.3,5 This discrepancy in race and background often creates a “sociocultural gap” in which there is a disconnect between the experiences of the mentors and their mentees, which might have deleterious impacts, not only on the mentoring relationship but also on the mentee.6,7 To address this gap, youth mentoring programs have begun implementing cultural competency training for mentors to help mentors better understand the background and experiences their mentees bring to the mentoring relationship.

Read the full article…

2024-02-16
Why Your Mentoring Program Should Provide Training to Parents/Caregivers of Mentees

By eporter

Why Your Mentoring Program Should Provide Training to Parents/Caregivers of Mentees

A common misconception about mentoring is that an impactful mentoring experience for a child consists solely of a supportive relationship between a mentor and a mentee. In truth, the model of successful mentoring is complex and consists of various interdependent relationships between the mentor, mentoring program staff, and parents or caregivers of the mentee, all working together to contribute to positive, impactful experiences for the mentee.1

Read the full article…

2024-01-19
Tips for Recruiting Committed Mentors to Your Program

By eporter

Tips for Recruiting Committed Mentors to Your Program

Many mentoring programs have difficulty recruiting mentors to volunteer in their program and begin a mentoring relationship with a mentee. Program staff often report challenges to 1) recruiting a sufficient number of mentors to match the number of mentees enrolled in their program, 2) recruiting mentors who have similar interests to mentees, 3) recruiting mentors whose skills and motivations match the program’s goals, and 4) recruiting mentors who are committed to the mentoring relationship who will not leave the relationship prematurely. To address these recruitment challenges, we have outlined some tips to consider while recruiting mentors to volunteer in your mentoring program, so you can locate and enroll committed, trusting mentors to meet the unique needs of each of your mentees.

Read the full article…

View all blog posts.

Jobs

2023-05-15
Business Development Associate

By eporter

POSITION TITLE: Business Development Associate
EMPLOYER: Innovation Research & Training
LOCATION (City, State): Durham, NC
WEBSITES: www.irtinc.us; www.mentoringcentral.net; www.preventioncentral.net
START DATE: Available immediately

Position Type: Full-time

Company Description: innovation Research & Training (iRT), a behavioral sciences research company, in Durham, North Carolina, seeks a full-time Business Development Associate who desires to join an outstanding team. iRT is a small, innovative company that specializes in research, development, evaluation, and dissemination of evidence-based prevention and intervention programs. Our mission is to create products and services with proven outcomes that improve the health and well-being of children, adolescents, young adults, families, and communities.

Read the full posting…