BBBS

An additional weakness is that relationships may fail to follow through if a mentor or mentee fail to show up, or from a mentor cancellation with little reasons why (Moodie, & Fisher, 2009, Moodie, 2004). To reduce early endings of mentoring relationships, and increase the positive impact on youth development, BBBS should implement an effective method of screening to ensure that potential mentors are committed to helping the adolescence thrive over a significant period of time, not just short term (Wesely, Dzoba, Miller, & Rasche,

The mentoring program for new grads at this facility has been very successful. The facility has found that the mentoring program builds confidence in the new grads and respect for the mentor. It makes the new grads believe they are wanted and helps them adapt to the

In 1904, a New York City Clerk named Ernest Coulter saw fit to form an adult volunteers program, Big Brothers movement to help keep kids out of trouble while demonstrating to be a caring role model into the lives of children through a network of over 400 local agencies. Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Kansas City was chartered in 1964, started by two big brothers who are still involved in the program today. In 1977, Big Brothers Association and Big Sisters International joined forces and became Big Brothers Big Sisters of America. BBBSKC has been one of the fastest growing BBBS agencies in the countries and was named Agency of the Year in 2010 & 2012 (http://www.bbbskc.org). The impact of the program is about meeting the youths most basic developmental needs. This is done through one-on-one relationship that is built on trust and friendship that could blossom into a future of unlimited potentials in addition, by observing shared everyday activities such as eating out, playing sports or attending sports events, going to movies, sightseeing, or just spending quality time together. This program has an on-going study that indicates very low results when adults actively participates in the lives of the children such as 46% children are less likely to begin using illegal drugs, 27% less likely to begin using alcohol, 52% less likely to skip

While residing in Macon for school, I have noticed that many of the children here in Macon are in need of the some form of mentorship, and I understand that, through Zeta, we have the youth auxiliary groups, and that is a great benefit to the community. However, I believe that the youth need a more personal, a more individual relationship with someone. There is a greater chance of change, progress, and betterment in the youth if they have a chance at a more individualized relationship with someone they can view as a mentor and role

This study is limited to the freshman mentor program at one high school in a 30 high school district located in Maryland. Data was collected from a representative group of mentors. Interviews were limited to discussion of the role of the mentor in working with the freshmen mentees. Although many high schools have freshmen mentor programs, each school develops a unique program to fit the needs of the students feeding into their school. Data was collected from a small representative group of mentors and they were all

Big Brothers Big Sisters of New York is a non-profit organization who has a main mission to help children and adolescents achieve their potential dreams through professional support, person-to-person relationship with mentors. The mentors try to make it their goal to make a measurable impact on children and adolescents. It is one of the largest organizations that mentor children and adolescents from all communities. Big brother Big Sister mentoring programs have several chapters such as community-based mentoring, work place mentoring, school-based mentoring, and specialized mentoring. The most effective and influential of the mentoring programs is the community-based mentoring program. This is because it covers a wider population of the community, which involves children and adolescents (Grossman and Tierney).

The mentors in this scenario are clear examples of coping models. The mentors all came from the same neighborhood and faced similar challenges as the students in the probation program. The mentors are able to share their experiences and how they worked hard to overcome certain obstacles in order to be successful. Since there are face to face meetings, the mentors can even show some of the strategies they used to solve a problem, especially academically. For example, the mentor might be able to help students who struggle with math come up with ways that will help them solve a particular problem. By not showing them how to solve the problem, but instead teaching them how to find ways to solve it that works for them, critical thinking skills are reinforced and self-efficacy for learning is instilled. The students are more likely to appreciate the results of hard work when they hear relatable stories, apply what they learned, and then achieve success themselves.

“The greatest good you can do for another is not just share your riches but to reveal to him his own. - Benjamin Disrael This quote is similar to a Chinese Proverb that says “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime”(Chinese Proverb). Both essentially say the same thing, and that is, you can only help someone so much until they need to realize they are capable of doing great things on their own. Higher Risk youth benefit from guidance, but once they have figured everything out they can move on alone. These two quotes apply to mentoring because, mentoring is like showing someone the way to life.

In the literature, mentoring programs are often advocated as an effective intervention in helping young offenders in fostering one-to-one relationships (a young offender with a caring adult) and in connecting them to promising education and employment opportunities upon their release Supporters of this view highlight that positive relationship with caring adults strengthens the protective factors which help young offenders to overcome structural and institutional hurdles to having healthy and productive lives. Keating,

Mentoring has arguments both for and against its effectiveness in relation to at-risk youth. These programs have been known to help in areas of self-esteem, attitudes toward drugs and alcohol, grades, attendance and disciplinary problems in school. Although, the scope of at-risk youth can be quite narrow, if administered correctly it can be inclusive of all teens with emotional and behavioral problems. These programs should not be considered a quick fix to such a large problem, but it can be used as a means to an end.

Luckily, Kansas Big Brothers Big Sisters is in a great position right now as there are many opportunities that they can undertake. For example, they have a waiting list of over 4,000 children who are wanting to be matched with a Big. If the right mentors can be located throughout the state while continuing to find the resources needed, then the organization has the ability to serve over 10,000 children in Kansas. As over 70 percent of children on the waiting list to receive a Big are male, Kansas Big Brothers Big Sisters has the opportunity to target males in the community specifically. Fortunately, many of the counties that are being served in Kansas are in college towns and so many of the students attending college are looking for philanthropic opportunities and will be willing to engage with the organization. There is a huge need for this organization looking ahead.

The Lincoln County Needs Assessment quoted a recently released national research report that indicated mentoring is one of the keys to academic achievement and keeping students in school and on track. This new research reinforced the growing body of evidence that mentoring is also a critical asset in helping America’s disconnected young people to persevere and find pathways to meaningful and productive lives. (America’s Promise Alliance, Civic Enterprises and Peter D. Hart Research Associates, 2012). In the Executive Director’s View section (#3) of the 2014 Lincoln County Needs Assessment, when asked the question “Is there another provider or program you can think of that would enhance the effectiveness of our local system of the care?”, the reply was “Expanding the therapeutic mentoring program based on its effectiveness in reaching kids with varying degrees of mental health needs and the ability for mentors to get

Tim saw this and became inspired to become a mentor with the Helping Services For Northeast Iowa. In order to be a mentor “The ability and willingness to value the mentee as a person; Develop mutual trust and respect; Maintain confidentiality; Listen both to what is being said and how it is being said; Help the mentee solve his or her problems, rather than give directions; Focus on the mentee’s development and resist the urge to produce a clone.” (University of Washington). Since the start of the Youth Mentoring Services in Northeast Iowa, 1,137 youth have been connected to a role model (“Youth Mentoring Services”). Kids who are mentored have ”significantly more confident in their academic abilities and considerably less likely to display behavioral problems.”(Centre for Addiction and Mental Health). Through the mentoring experience, Tim has learned that the best part is guiding some fun into a child's life while educating them (Egemo). Tim has helped a few children become better human beings through this mentoring

It takes a lot of commitment to be a mentor, an appropriate meeting time needs to be discussed between mentor and mentee so that it doesn't conflict with family, school, and/or social life. Mentors are usually provided for: troubled teens, young children with busy parents that work, children or teens with special needs such as Autism or ADHD, or anyone under or over the age of 18 who needs to have one on one time with someone they trust and can talk to confidentially.

Research suggests that mentoring has the potential to be a powerful and effective mechanism for success within African American males (Woodland, 2008; Bandy & Moore, 2011). Supportive adult-child relationships are critical to the social and emotional development of children. Children who have these relationships tend to demonstrate more confidence, experience a greater sense of security, have higher grades, and for African American youth in particular, mentoring has also been associated with higher rates of college attendance (Suarez-Orozco, Pimentel, & Martin, 2009; Woodland, 2008). Additionally, research also supports fostering partnerships between the communities and schools, and connections between youth programs and families as promising practices for serving African American males (Bandy & Moore,