Helpful Youth Mentoring Links
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 Center for Evidence-Based Mentoring: An Alliance between: Mentor/National Mentoring Partnership and University of Massachusetts, Boston
The Center is dedicated to creating the open and efficient exchange of research and ideas for the advancement of youth mentoring practice and policy. Research Director is Professor Jean Rhodes who has written many articles and books on youth mentoring. Some of the most recent USA research on youth mentoring will be found on this site.
The New Zealand Youth Mentoring Network
Formerly the Auckland Youth Mentoring Association (established in 2000), The New Zealand Youth Mentoring Network is a not-for-profit charitable Trust. The vision of the Network is to encourage the setting up of effective youth mentoring programs in communities in New Zealand. 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.
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).
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.
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.
Big Brothers Big Sisters
An American based website – one of the most successful youth mentoring programmes around.
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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
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.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.
Resiliency in Action
Nan Henderson and others have produced some excellent resources and articles on resiliency, a crucial component of a credible youth mentoring program.
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.
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
Scottish Mentoring Network
This website contains the most comprehensive on-line library of mentoring information in Scotland, as well as many links to other organisations involved in coaching and mentoring.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
kids.now
kids.now is Canada’s national charity for youth development. They offer afterschool mentoring programs for kids in grades 7 and 8 (11 – 14 years old), where volunteer coach-mentors guide groups of 10 kids through a series of sessions that focus on life-success skills development, such a goal-setting, conflict resolution, communication, stress management etc.
Be a Mentor
An American website with some useful resources for those running youth mentoring programs, which can be freely downloaded.
Informal Education
A useful U.K. site for articles on mentoring research and learning mentors, the latter a relatively new mentoring concept.
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 Youth Development Information Center
An American site with a wealth of information on youth issues, much of which is relevant to youth mentoring, education and parenting.
Teacher Appreciation
Teacher Appreciation website with ideas and suggestions for Teacher’s Day, Teacher Appreciation Week and other student-teacher special occasions.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.
Best Online Tutoring
For a variety of reasons students might need a Tutor. This U.S. based website connects you to a global network of specialists in a variety of subjects and deliver instruction virtually, on your time.
Teen Drug and Alcohol Abuse
Increasingly neuroscience research is suggesting that drugs and alcohol have a greater effect on teens than on adults. The signs of addiction can be difficult to understand, and many adolescents don’t realize the long-term damage drugs have on their bodies because the short-term side-effects fade. Although this is a USA website, there is some helpful information for anyone wanting to know more about teen drug and alcohol abuse. Always double-check the services available in the areas in which you live and work.Teen Drug Rehab
There is increasing concern about the impact illicit drugs has on our youth at a time when the brain is still developing. Addiction Center, a USA organisation, has some helpful information available to anyone wanting to know more about teenage substance abuse. Always double-check the services available in the area in which you live.