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Village Mentoring™
 Village Mentoring™ is a new kind of mentoring program that synthesizes concepts from one-on-one mentoring, team building, and community development programs to create a comprehensive and empowering experience for children and their mentors. By concentrating on two key values – ownership and group identity – village mentoring catalyzes existing resources in new and effective ways.
 vMentoring™ affects and empowers five key populations:
- Mentors: Creates leaders
- Staff: Increases capacity
- Parents: Enables continuous involvement
- Community Organizations: Connects with families
- Children: Encourages teamwork
vMentoring™ creates a structure of ever-increasing connections among these five groups.
Ownership!
 When mentors feel complete control of a project, they invest themselves more fully and have more energy than they would if they were just participating.
Practical examples include:
- Mentors running the recruitment process
- Families being involved in a structured advisory board
- Staff and mentors equally sharing responsibilities, problems, and successes
Group Identity!
By creating a common feeling of support and social energy, mentors and mentees feel more comfortable in and are more enthusiastic for the program.
Three key identity-builders are:
- Connectedness: Everyone must know everyone else
- Group Meetings: At the beginning to welcome everyone, at end to create a sense of closure
- Culminating Experiences: Plan as a group, or smaller groups... attend as a large group
Want to learn more? Interested in starting a Village Mentoring™ program?
Contact us at
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