| 100 Mentoring Sources
"A PIF Mentor Passes Forward Information Online To Help Others"
Welcome to the worlds largest mentoring (aka consciousness shift) movement. Did you know that if you change the way you look at things – the things you look at change? Imagine helping another person get what they want and wanting nothing in return? What would that do for the person you are helping, and what would it do to you?
MENTOR helping in President Obama^s call to service
8/14/2009
MENTOR, a founding partner of America’s Promise Alliance, has joined with other national nonprofit organizations in aggregating volunteer service opportunities that will support the President and First Lady Obama^s United We Serve campaign for volunteerism.
Launched in June, United We Serve encourages Americans to get involved this summer in volunteer activities that will make their communities better places to live. The campaign will culminate September 11, which has been designated as a National Day of Service and Remembrance, to commemorate victims of the 2001 terrorist attacks.
MENTOR^s database of mentoring opportunities is being featured so that potential volunteers can find quality mentoring programs at www.serve.gov — the hub for United We Serve — in addition to visiting www.mentoring.org. Other nonprofits with volunteer databases that are being featured include the American Red Cross, Habitat for Humanity, Idealist, Network for Good, United Way and VolunteerMatch.
This wealth of information has been organized by the Corporation for National and Community Service, Google, Facebook and the Craigslist Foundation into a new online volunteer recruiting tool called All for Good. In addition, All for Good offers tool kits to help people organize projects, such as creating a community garden or conducting a home energy audit.
"We wanted to be part of the United We Serve effort so we can reach even more potential mentors," said MENTOR Chief Administrative Officer Tonya Wiley. "By being able to feature our database of quality mentoring programs with a wider audience, we may appeal to Americans who might not have visited our Web site. This will be a win for everyone involved, especially children and our communities."
To learn more about United We Serve, go to www.serve.gov. For more information about All for Good, go to www.allforgood.org. And, to learn more about mentoring, visit www.mentoring.org.
These Links cover a variety of topics linked to mentoring - education, the Teacher-Mentor, volunteer Mentors, Peer Mentors, Parenting and other youth issues. Most of the websites have excellent links to other sites relevant to the world of youth mentoring. The focus is on the links that might be most useful to those interested in youth mentoring. Youth Empowerment Seminars is unable to endorse any specific youth programmes. http://www.yess.co.nz/
Youth Mentoring Network
An Australian site.The Network is an initiative of the National Youth Mentoring Partnership which consists of four not-for profit organisations (The Smith Family, Dusseldorp Skills Forum, Big Brothers Big Sisters Australia and Job Futures) and the Department of Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs. The Youth Mentoring Network aims to work with interested youth mentoring organisations and practitioners to foster the growth and development of high quality mentoring programs for young people in Australia by providing a national base of collaboration, support, guidance and expertise. Most youth mentoring programs in Australia can be found on this site.
Oregon Mentors
Oregon Mentors is a USA business-led, community-driven nonprofit organization that is dedicated to the dramatic expansion of quality mentoring. The idea behind Oregon Mentors is simple: when we invest today in expanding our community^s capacity to mentor our youth, we will see an incredible return in the lives of our children and the health of our communities. The organization was created to recruit and train mentors and provide technical assistance and resources to expand the capacities of statewide mentoring programs. There are some great resources available on this website.
Frontline Solutions
A New Zealand organisation offering youth mentoring products e.g. The Student Performer Software; The Mentor Profiler software. Non-threatening profilers, valuable assets for monitoring one^s personal development. Participants are given strategies to work on to help them reach their potential, as students or as mentors. This is a great tool for evaluating the mentoring journey, as it is completed by both the Mentors and the Mentees (Student Performer) - email Doug Cowie:frontline@maxnet.co.nz.
The Tutor/Mentor Connection
The MISSION of the Tutor/Mentor Connection (T/MC) is to provide an organized framework that empowers and encourages adult volunteers to give their time, effort, ideas and advocacy in seeking life-changing solutions for children living in educationally and economically disadvantaged environments such as the Cabrini-Green housing development in Chicago. There is some interesting material on their site. There is also access to other mentor and tutor blog pages which are well worth visiting Click here for more details
The Youth Mentoring Trust, New Zealand
Formerly the Auckland Youth Mentoring Association (established in 2000), The Youth Mentoring Trust has been established as a not-for-profit charitable Trust. The vision of the Trust is to encourage the setting up of effective youth mentoring programmes in communities in the Auckland region. It aims to support and promote effective youth mentoring by providing resources and training opportunities, facilitating networking and co-ordination, creating a positive public profile for youth mentoring, and encouraging community engagement in quality mentoring programmes. Most New Zealand youth mentoring programs can be found on this site.
MENTOR National Mentoring Partnership
This is one of the top youth mentoring websites (based in the United States of America) and, most importantly, contains an excellent section covering Effective Practices for running a mentoring programme. Numerous documents are freely available to be downloaded off this site.
Public/Private Ventures
This is an excellent American site for researched articles on mentoring and other youth related issues. The research that they did on the Big Brothers Big Sisters of America youth mentoring program, which has a wealth of useful information, can be found on this website. There is also a very interesting article on mentoring students from high risk environments (June 2004).
National Mentoring Center
The National Mentoring Center (NMC) has been serving youth mentoring programs of all types since 1999. Originally created by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), the National Mentoring Center offers training, resources, and online information services to the entire mentoring field. There are some great resources that can be freely downloaded. The National Mentoring Center^s MentorExchange listserv is their most widely used resource. It is designed for mentoring program coordinators, staff, and volunteers to share ideas, innovations, resources, and successful practices in the field of youth mentoring. This resource creates a virtual community in which mentoring researchers and professionals can empower each other through the open exchange of ideas and information.
The Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory
This is an excellent American site for research on youth issues and youth mentoring. Plenty of information for those working with students from high risk environments (^at risk^). Great information on setting up a youth mentoring programme, funding strategies and a whole lot more.
Peer Resources Network
This Canadian website has a wealth of information on more than just mentoring issues and is definitely worth a visit. It has a many links to other interesting websites as well. One of the pioneers of peer mentoring in North America.
Big Brothers Big Sisters International
Based in America, Big Brothers Big Sisters International is a global alliance of country-specific associations of Big Brothers Big Sisters volunteer mentoring programs working to improve the lives of children and youth around the world.
Peer Support Foundation
The Peer Support Foundation Limited, based in New South Wales, Australia, is dedicated to providing dynamic peer led programs which foster the physical, social and mental wellbeing of young people and their community. The Peer Support Program is integrated into curricula and sustained from Kindergarten to Year 12. It supports positive cultural change within schools by incorporating a range of strategies developed through collaboration with members of the whole school community for the specific needs of the school.
Brothers In Arms
Brothers in Arms is a New Zealand charitable trust set up to recruit, train, match, and support people of good will who would mentor one young person to make a difference in their lives. The Brothers in Arms program is a research based mentoring scheme for 10-16yr olds with behavioral, learning, and social difficulties, who may not be attending or are struggling in normal schools, may be offenders, but seek to improve their lot in life. It is founded on individual same sex mentoring for approximately half a day a week for at least a year. This regular contact is an essential part of the relationship between the young person and their mentor.
Slingshot Community Enterprise & Employment Centre
The Slingshot Community Enterprise and Employment Centre (SCEEC) is a youth specific enterprise centre providing training and mentoring through flexible programs focused on young people’s initiatives based in Australia. The SCEEC is a 10-room Edwardian house in North Fitzroy, close to public transport in inner Melbourne. They foster youth enterprise, both social and for-profit, focusing on the 18 to 24 age group.
Life Changing Experiences Foundation
An Australian website which includes the SISTER2sister mentoring project.Currently The SISTER2sister Project mentors 40 at risk teenage girls in the Sydney metropolitan area. Each of the girls is assigned a “Big Sister” mentor as a positive female role model to provide support, guidance and advice, where needed, throughout the 12 month project.
Childtrends
Based in America, Childtrends is a nonprofit, nonpartisan research organisation dedicated to improving the lives of children by conducting research and providing science-based information to improve the decisions, programs and policies that affect children and their families. There is useful research available, especially for those involved in setting up mentoring programmes and trainers who might be looking for more information on young people.
Mentor Consulting Group
Based in America and founded by Dr Susan Weinberger, one of the experts in the field of mentoring, this organisation has some useful tips for those wanting to set up mentoring programmes.
Search Institute
An American site with plenty of research and information on how to promote the building of assets while working with youth. Great for those involved in youth mentoring and education. Their findings and resources have heavily influenced the work of Youth Empowerment Seminars!
Uncle, Byron Bay
Uncle is an Australian mentoring and activities program for local boys, without active fathers, a community-based organisation committed to guiding and supporting young boys in their personal development during a challenging period of their lives.
Mentoring Partnership of Minnesota
An American site,the Mentoring Partnership of Minnesota is the driving force in the mentoring movement; bringing together diverse individuals and organizations to connect caring adults with a generation of kids in mentoring relationships. Their commitment to youth is to make mentoring more mainstream in Minnesota.
Youth Justice Board
An excellent U.K. link, especially for those working with youth offenders. Some interesting research on youth mentoring, as well as tips on setting up youth mentoring programmes for high risk youth.
The Mentors, Inc.
An American program,The Mentors, Inc. mission is to increase the graduation rates and success of Washington, D.C.’s public high school students by pairing them with caring adult volunteers in structured and enriched mentoring relationships that promote their personal, academic and career development.
Mentorsforum
Based in the United Kingdom, this website aims to bring together people who are interested in mentoring and to network with other mentors around the world.
Child, Youth and Family Consortium
An American based website (University of Minnesota)with some excellent program materials related to youth aged 12 to 18 years old and their families.
Be a Mentor
An American website with some useful resources for those running youth mentoring programs, which can be freely downloaded.
Children^s Village WAY Program
American based, the WAY (Work Appreciation for Youth) program began in 1984 to help youth leaving residential treatment make a successful transition back to the community and gain the attitudes and skills needed to become productive and self-sufficient adults. The Executive Summary is well worth reading for people interested in Care to Independence Programs.
The Champions Mentoring Program
The Champions Mentoring Program (a U.S.A. Program) for children of prisoners is designed to provide a safe environment where these special children can share their feelings and concerns, improve their coping skills and enhance their resiliency. They receive weekly, one-on-one attention from a caring adult volunteer mentor, who has been thoroughly screened and trained. Mentors, mentees and the child’s family have access to staff at all times for problem solving, questions, and help accessing resources. Champions is a joint program of The Governor’s Prevention Partnership and Family ReEntry. Funding is primarily through a Children of Prisoners grant from the Administration of Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Friends of the Children
An American youth program which follows the philosophy that what many troubled children need is a stable, enduring, caring relationship with an adult. Read the story of the Founder, Duncan Campbell - inspiring!
Informal Education
A useful U.K. site for articles on mentoring research and learning mentors, the latter a relatively new mentoring concept.
Youth as Resources
This organisation focuses on connecting youth to the community in positive ways. There are 80 programs in 22 states in the USA, Canada, New Zealand and Poland.
International Telementor Program
The International Telementor Program (ITP) facilitates electronic mentoring relationships between professional adults and students worldwide, and is recognized as the leader in the field of academic based mentoring. Since 1995 over 15,000 students throughout nine countries have received support, encouragement, and professional guidance. ITP serves students in K-12 and home school environments as well as college and university settings.
Telementoring is a process that combines the proven practice of mentoring with the speed and ease of electronic communication, enabling busy professionals to make significant contributions to the academic lives of students. Through mentoring by industry professionals, a corporation helps students develop the skills and foundation to pursue their interests successfully and operate at their potential.
e-Buddies
A Best Buddies International Program. This organisation matches volunteers with people who have mental retardation and other disabilities.
The California Mentor Foundation
This is a resource center relating to over 350 mentoring programs in California. There is some interesting research available on this site.
National Dropout Prevention Centres
An American site which provides knowledge and promotes networking for researchers, practitioners, policymakers and families to increase opportunities for youth in at-risk situations to receive the quality education and services necessary to successfully graduate from high school. Some useful mentoring information can be found on the
Effective Strategies page.
Project Resilience
A private organisation based in Washington D.C. which promotes a strength-based approach to both youth and adults struggling to overcome hardship, for instance family disruption, poverty, violence, substance abuse and racism.
OneStar Foundation
Based in America, the OneStar Foundation is Texas^ home for supporting a new culture of volunteerism and for managing national service programs and other initiatives important to Texas.
The Ohio State University
Based at Ohio State University, this web site offers a very useful summary of resilience promoting strategies, including practical examples, which would be of interest to all involved in youth mentoring programs.
Teacher Appreciation
Teacher Appreciation website with ideas and suggestions for Teacher^s Day, Teacher Appreciation Week and other student-teacher special occasions.
Tucson Resiliency Initiative
The Tucson Resiliency Initiative is committed to nurturing the resilience in every Tuscan youth for the betterment of the entire community. The resiliency approach is not a program or activity, but rather a framework through which schools and communities adopt unique resiliency-building attitudes, policies and strategies.
Resiliency in Action
Nan Henderson and others have produced some excellent resources and articles on resiliency, a crucial component of a credible youth mentoring programme. A Newsletter is now available. See website for details on how to receive it (2006).
The Governor^s Prevention Partnership (Connecticut)
Created in 1989 in the USA, The Governor^s Prevention Partnership is a not-for-profit partnership between state government and business leaders with a mission to keep Connecticut^s youth safe, successful and drug-free. The Partnership provides leadership and services to help schools, communities, youth organizations, colleges and businesses create and sustain quality programs in five core areas:
- Increasing the number of youth who have the caring support of a mentor (some useful information for working with Corporate groups and establishing mentoring programs can be found here)
- Helping local communities build coalitions and programs to address underage drinking
- Helping schools develop and implement effective drug and violence prevention programming including Student Assistance Programs, bullying, conflict resolution and peer mediation programs
- Helping colleges/universities address issues and behavior related to alcohol abuse
- Delivering anti-drug messages through the media
- Giving parents the skills they need to protect their children against drugs and other problems
The Governor^s Prevention Partnership works in collaboration with local, regional and statewide providers to maximize youth development programming without duplicating services. The Partnership^s programs affect children in virtually every community in the state.
The Californian Association of Peer Programs
The California Association of Peer Programs, based in the USA, is a nonprofit public benefit corporation that is dedicated to the initiation, enhancement, and promotion of youth service through quality peer programs. Founded in 1984 by a group of educators, it serves thousands of California youth and adults involved in peer programs. Some useful material pertaining to Peer Programs can be found on this site.
Additional Mentoring Organizations
Descriptions of Mentoring
Being a Mentor
Getting a Mentor
Setting Up a Mentoring Program
General Resources
For the Category of Leadership:
Related Library Topics
Recommended Books
For Leading Yourself, See
Personal Development -- Related Books
For Leading Other Individuals, See
Supervision -- Related Books
For Leading Teams, See
Facilitation and Teams -- Related Books
For Leading Organizations, See
Organizational Development -- Recommended Books
HELPING CHILDREN:
VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES
 Welcome! I^m Jamie Littlefield, Charity Guide^s senior editor for child protection volunteer opportunities.
In this directory, you^ll find opportunities to make a difference for children in 15 minutes, a few hours (once, or each week) or during a volunteer vacation.
I discovered how much kids need our help when I began teaching at an inner-city school. As the students looked at me from their desks that first morning, their grim faces seemed to say, "We don^t need you; we don^t need anyone." But, as we got to know each other over chalk and essays, I learned that many of the kids were hurting for help. Some needed encouragement; others an example. Some needed help getting out of a bad situation at home; others needed school supplies or a new pair of shoes. Many needed help dealing with drugs, gangs, and other serious struggles. A few just needed someone to appreciate them.
As their teacher, I tried my best to help those kids. But, I couldn^t do it all. I had to hope that people like you would step-up.
The flexible volunteer opportunities listed in this directory make that possible. No matter who you are, or how busy your life is, you have the ability to help. Trying one of these volunteer ideas during your lunch break, in-between errands, or on vacation could make a world of difference to a child in need.
I^ll add new volunteer opportunities regularly. So visit this directory often and tell your friends.
Please join me in making a difference for kids. It^ll be worth it.
Pass It Forward Movement
The Pass It Forward Movement (PIF) stands by their promise that this movement must appeal to 100% of people. If there is anything on this website that is objectionable, please contact aunitedworld.@gmail.com as soon as possible and we will rectify this matter immediately. Your comments and suggestions make this all possible, and we thank the hundreds of thousands of organizations that are involved.
If PIF does not hear from you, we will assume that you are behind this movement 100% and we encourage all of you to PIF and treat this website as if it were your own. We must ask, however that if you are going to use the phrase “Pass It Forward” yourself, the content must be approved by PIF in writing. Please submit all submittals to aunitedworld.@gmail.com.
Inspiring Others to Volunteer...
Do you write a blog, participate in an online forum, or influence the content of a website? If so, please promote child-welfare volunteering by linking to this Children^s Issues Volunteer Directory. |
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