Now Available! New Guide to Help Parents/Caregivers Maximize Benefits of Mentoring for Their Young Person
Mentoring Central is excited to share that the National Mentoring Resource Center (NMRC) has released a new guide to help parents and caregivers support a young person involved in or help a young person become involved in a mentoring program.
Back-to-School Mentoring Activity Guide for Stronger Relationships
Though mentors are often not directly involved in their mentees’ schooling, they can play an impactful role behind the scenes to help their mentee feel connected at school, attend class regularly, and boost their grades.
How To Determine If Online, Self-Paced or Face-to-Face, Instructor-Led Training is Better for Your Mentors
Pre-match mentor training can help mentors feel more prepared to mentor and supported by your program, which may ultimately lead to longer, stronger matches. Most mentoring program staff are aware that evidence-based training programs and practices are more likely to produce positive outcomes for mentors than training programs that are not supported by research. However, you may still feel overwhelmed with the responsibility of choosing trainings to provide to your mentors that will best suit their needs and support your program’s goals. You may ask yourself questions such as, “Are online trainings engaging enough for my mentors?” or “Is in-person training worth the time and resources it takes for my staff to conduct it?”
A Guide for Preventing Premature Match Closure in Mentoring Relationships
Alarmingly, nearly 40% of youth mentoring relationships end early.1 Premature match closure is associated with various negative outcomes in young people, and mentees who are in matches that end early experience significantly fewer benefits from mentoring than mentees who are in long-lasting relationships. For example, young people who are in mentoring relationships that end within three months experience decreases in self-worth and confidence in their academic abilities, and mentees in relationships that end within six months report increases in alcohol use.2
Fun, Goal-Oriented, Summer Activity Suggestions for Matches
The types of activities that mentors and mentees do together during match meetings can have a significant impact on the mentoring relationship. In fact, research has shown that match activities that are goal-directed, collaborative, and relevant to the match’s needs can help mentees feel closer to their mentor, reduce obstacles to the mentoring relationship, and improve mentee outcomes.1,2,3
Oklahoma Mentoring Programs Implement Mentoring Central’s Mentor Trainings
iRT is excited to announce that it is collaborating with the Office of Juvenile Affairs (OJA) and the Oklahoma Commission on Children and Youth (OCCY) to implement and evaluate Mentoring Central’s training programs and mentoring resources in mentoring programs across Oklahoma.
What Mentees Should Know Before Beginning a Mentoring Relationship
Most mentors receive pre-match training and resources from their mentoring program’s staff to prepare for their mentoring relationships before meeting their mentee for the first time. However, many mentees do not receive pre-match training that teaches them strategies to contribute to their mentoring relationship, and mentees often report not knowing what to expect from mentoring.
Mentoring Central Publishes Cutting-Edge Research Findings and Strategies for Mentoring Programs
Mentoring Central is dedicated to developing and delivering products and services designed to produce effective mentoring relationships and positively impact the lives of youth. In addition to developing high-quality, research-based mentoring training programs, our team of research scientists and subject matter experts write publications to share cutting-edge strategies and research findings to help program staff elevate the quality of their mentoring programs.
Resources to Support the Mental Health of Mentees
May is National Mental Health Awareness Month, which is an important time to recognize the efforts and contributions of positive youth development organizations across the country that are making strides to advance the mental health and wellbeing of Americans. Mentoring programs and organizations consistently contribute to the wellbeing of youth by providing opportunities for young people to receive compassion and build meaningful relationships with trusted adults.
School’s Out! Tips for Promoting Mentoring Relationship Closeness Over the Summer
The end of the academic year is quickly approaching, which means many matches, particularly those involved in school-based mentoring programs, must consider the future of their mentoring relationships. Matches that regularly meet in a school setting or plan match meetings according to the mentee’s school schedule must determine how their mentoring relationship should proceed once schools have closed.