Are you connected with your MENTOR affiliate this National Mentoring Month?

In honor of National Mentoring Month, MENTOR: The National Mentoring Partnership (MENTOR) would like to highlight the value of being connected with MENTOR affiliates across the country and learn how they provide resources to mentoring programs in their area. National Mentoring Month is an annual campaign that celebrates mentoring and its positive impacts on young lives, with the goal of raising awareness of mentoring in its various forms, recruiting individuals to mentor and promoting the growth of mentoring. MENTOR and its state and local affiliates across the nation are leaders in the effort to raise awareness about ways that individuals can lend their support to this important cause.

Who are MENTOR affiliates?

MENTOR’s national network of affiliates serve as the catalysts of state and local mentoring movements. MENTOR scales impact by developing and supporting this network, comprised of non-partisan, public-private organizations that mobilize their communities to engage in mentoring and support mentoring programs in their regions. They provide the leadership and infrastructure necessary to support the expansion of quality mentoring relationships. Many MENTOR affiliates also serve a unique role as a one-stop-shop for evidence-based training and technical assistance, resources, public awareness and advocacy for mentoring, providing the critical link between MENTOR’s national efforts and local organizations and programs that foster and support quality mentoring relationships. As designated MENTOR affiliates, they inform and distribute MENTOR’s research and resources.

What can my MENTOR affiliate do for me?

MENTOR affiliates engage a wide variety of public and private stakeholders to increase both the number of volunteer mentors as well as resources for the local mentoring field. They collect data on a regular basis to describe the impact of mentoring in the broader community and identify gaps in the range of services needed. Because they are focused on expanding public and private support and investment in mentoring through public awareness and advocacy efforts, MENTOR affiliates are great partners for mentoring programs and others focused on elevating the mentoring cause, during National Mentoring Month and throughout the year.

During National Mentoring Month, many mentoring programs focus on recruiting more volunteers. MENTOR and its affiliates work together to provide a key tool that helps programs recruit more youth mentors while increasing the visibility for their organization: the Mentoring Connector*. Listing your program in the Mentoring Connector allows your program to connect with thousands of prospective volunteers visit mentoring.org and our many partner sites each month as they seek mentoring opportunities in their own communities. This is just one example of how MENTOR and its affiliate network work to provide effective, field-tested solutions to some of the mentoring movement’s greatest challenges.

*All newly submitted program listings are reviewed using MENTOR’s Elements of Effective Practice for Mentoring™ prior to activation in the database. The Elements are research- and experience-based guidelines for operating a safe, effective youth mentoring program. The review process for newly submitted programs takes approximately one week, and you will receive an email with the results of the review and further information.

Spotlight on Midlands Mentoring Partnership

A recent article in the Omaha World-Herald about Midlands Mentoring Partnership, a MENTOR affiliate located in Omaha, Nebraska, illustrates the exciting work of MENTOR affiliates during National Mentoring Month and the value of plugging into their efforts.

For the fourth time, Midlands Mentoring Partnership has launched an effort to recruit mentors in Omaha. This $100,000 campaign has the goal of creating 400 new mentor matches in 2017. Similar campaigns in recent years have resulted in more than 1,000 total matches. Midlands Mentoring Partnership hopes this year’s initiative will raise awareness about the range of mentoring opportunities available and open the conversation about who can be a mentor.

Throughout National Mentoring Month, the partnership will spearhead efforts to spread awareness about the need for mentoring in Omaha and the ways individuals can get involved, including various events to celebrate mentoring hosted by the partnership’s 12 member organizations, and a billboard campaign featuring photos of successful mentor matches.

How can I connect with my local affiliate?

Find your state or local MENTOR affiliate here, and find out how you can get involved in their efforts to support mentoring in your state or region. If your state or region does not have an affiliate or you are interested in learning more about MENTOR affiliates, please reach out to Joellen Gonder-Spacek at jspacek@Mentoring.org or Adrienne Popeney at apopeney@Mentoring.org for more information.