Pass It Forward

To the world we might be just one person, but to a child, we might be their whole world. Read more...

One hundred years from now, it will not matter what my bank account was, the sort of house I lived in or the kind of car I drove, but the world may be different because I was important in the life of a child. Read more...

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. Read more...

Before you start sharing personal info with your mentee, I would suggest asking yourself the purpose of the story. Am I sharing this story for my own personal reasons? Share with a purpose! And share at the right time. Read more...

If your mentee doesn’t show up or is running late, find out the reason. Are they rushing from another appointment to meet you or did they decide to run errands instead of meeting you? I’d suggest addressing the problem with the parent first, before asking the Mentor Coordinator for help. Read more...

Your financial situation might change throughout your match, so you don’t want to set your mentee up for something you can’t maintain. And the mentoring relationship should be about spending time together, not money! Read more...

I think mentors (and I'm guilty) sometimes get stuck in a rut of doing the same things like going out to eat, going to the movies or going to the mall. As mentors, we have a unique opportunity to get involved in activities that the youth may not otherwise experience. Read more...

Around the same time that I started mentoring Pam, I began a new position at a local non-profit. I was hired as the Mentor Coordinator (MC). I recruited and trained new volunteers, planned monthly enrichment activities and mentor support groups. Read more...

My next mentoring experience was quite different. I went from mentoring Laney, who was 7 to mentoring Pam, a 13 year old. Read more...

I had some good visits with Laney and I had some visits that didn't go as planned. Laney would "test the boundaries" as I had been informed she might. Early on, she would tell me that she loved me and try to hold my hand and sit on my lap. Read more...

I started to officially mentor when I was a sophomore at Western Michigan University. I picked a program in Kalamazoo that worked with children who had been sexually abused. Read more...

I had a mentor for over 18 years. She wasn't a formal mentor assigned to me from a program, but over the years, I deemed her my mentor. I met her when I was only four years old. She moved in next door to my family. Read more...