Pass It Forward

[#1]

A great activity to do with your mentee is to volunteer together.  With the holidays fast approaching, there are several ways to give back to your community. There is usually no cost associated with volunteering, which is an added bonus in this tough economy.

Rake leaves for your elderly neighbors. Make cookies and deliver them to your local police or fire station and while you are there, ask for a tour. Call your local Salvation Army, they might have opportunities to help with bell-ringing and Toys for Tots.

Check your local shopping mall, sometimes agencies and groups (like YWCA) will recruit volunteers to help wrap gifts for shoppers. Make and decorate holiday cards to drop off at your local nursing home. While you are there, sing Christmas carols.

Shovel the snow from your neighbor's sidewalk and build a snowman for them. Volunteer at your local soup kitchen to serve Thanksgiving or Christmas meals. Start a donation drive (food, hat/gloves, blankets) in your neighborhood or church and donate the items to your local shelter.

If you keep a scrapbook, make sure to take pictures of your project. After the event is over, reflect and discuss how it went. If you can, request a letter of service from the agency; this will help your mentee (and you) build a resume and portfolio.

Volunteering with your mentee sets an example that they too can give back to others. Doing any of these activities will make the youth feel important and have a sense of pride and empowerment. In my experience, most mentees come from families who are low-income. By volunteering together, you are providing an opportunity for them to give back, rather than always being on the receiving end. This is also a way to link the child to resources in the community. For example, if you volunteer at a food bank, the child could share that resource with their parents and neighbors.

The ultimate goal for every mentor should be for our mentees to become mentors in the future. And we can do that through teaching them how to volunteer. Imagine how much better our world would be if all our mentees turned into mentors. And the cycle kept going, one child at a time.

[#2]

Spending time doing volunteer activities with your mentee is a great idea! It is low cost and has strong impact on the mentee and community. Plus it is a great bonding activity--for the mentee and mentor to do something together where they can see the direct result of their efforts. What types of volunteer activities have others done with their mentees and how did it go?

[#3]

I really liked your point about involving the mentees in community service so that they could feel like they were giving back, too. I think we sometimes forget what an important lesson that is. Thanks for suggesting that - I'm going to use your cookie idea! =)

[#4]

I have mentored high-school age children and the activity that they have seemed to enjoy most is visiting local college campus and participating in tours. This is an inexpensive and a great benefit to all who attend. Another activity is to demonstrate their ability to help others by reading to children at the local library on Friday’s, they were able to take what they learn from their mentor and provide therapy through reading children stories. Habitat for Humanity has great opportunities for matches to go and participate along with helping others. And since I’m pretty good in the kitchen and the holidays are approaching, we would bake cookies and cakes and take them to the local hospice and elderly care facilities as well as local children’s hospital. There are numerous inexpensive activities to participate with mentee in, be creative and explore all options, and remember it’s not what you do, but how you what you did impacted you or others!

[#5]

A pilot community service program, sponsored by Pass It Forward, is reaching out to men and women the world over, via the web. www.30minutementor.org has the capability of making a difference in other people's lives, enhancing the mentor as well.

In literally a 30-minute personal evaluation process, the individual is awakened to his or her own gift, strength, or purpose. This knowledge translates to purpose becoming passion! Then, by mentoring another person, he is now in turn passing it forward. The mentor and the mentee each are making a positive influence on the lives of others. They are empowered and they participate in a spirit of caring, to maximize social change for a world that works for all!

This "Pass It Forward" project, with worldwide outreach, is under the auspices of We, The World. The website is accessible at www.passforward.org. The "30 Minute Mentor" is a non-profit global initiative, designed to maximize social change through volunteer mentoring.

[#6]

The Pass It Forward Movement gives every person the opportunity to have a volunteer mentor and to be a volunteer mentor. For more information about the world's largest mentoring (acts of kindness) movement go to www.passforward.org

[#7]

Especially in uncertain times, people are job transitioning, or going through life-changing circumstances. A volunteer community service program, sponsored by Pass It Forward, has launched a worldwide mentoring program, quick to accomplish, and benefiting both the mentor and his or her protégé.

The program is conducted completely on-line. Called the 30 Minute Mentor (www.30minutementor.org), the individual is awakened to his or her own gift, strength, or purpose. This knowledge translates to purpose becoming passion! Many advantages, including renewed confidence may result. He is given his own website, and by then mentoring another person, he is now passing it forward.

The mentor and protégé each are making a positive impact on the lives of others. In so doing, they are empowered as they participate in a spirit of caring, to maximize social change for a world that works for all!

Under the auspices of We, The World, the global outreach of this volunteer project welcomes all adults who wish to find their purpose, develop a passion, and put it into action. For more information, go online to www.passforward.org.