What Is the Future of Mentoring?

Find out at the lively panel discussion hosted by iMentor Interactive last week:

Thanks to everyone who made National Mentoring Month such a great one!

National Mentoring Month – Final Week

Our theme for the final week of National Mentoring Month is “The Future of the Mentoring Movement.”  Not so coincidentally, this is also the topic of our final event in celebration of the month, a panel discussion on “What Is the Future of the National Mentoring Movement?”

This event will take place on Thursday, 1/28 at 6pm EST at iMentor’s office in NYC.  But if you’d like to participate from anywhere else in the world, you can join us as we stream it live tomorrow night!

In the meantime, take a look at iMentor Interactive’s National Mentoring Month Calendar for suggested activities for this final week of our month-long celebration, including recruiting, networking, and supporting.

Join Us on Thursday, 1/28 for a Lively Panel Discussion!

What is the Future of the National Mentoring Movement?

Continuing the Work Beyond Mentoring Month

Thursday, Jan 28, 2010 (6:00 PM to 8:00 PM)

@ iMentor’s Office (& via webinar)

30 Broad Street, 9th Floor, New York, NY

RSVP @ http://www.socializr.com/event/194832849

At the conclusion of a busy and successful National Mentoring Month, iMentor will host a panel of leading mentoring experts to discuss the challenges and successes of the mentoring movement, from both the local and national perspectives. Panelists and guests will discuss the future of the mentoring movement and strategies to increase collaboration and impact across the country.

Our panelists include:

Diahann Billings-Burford, Chief Service Officer, City of New York. As Chief Service Officer, Diahann oversees implementation of the near 40 initiatives in NYC Service. NYC Service meets the Mayor’s State of the City pledge for New York City to lead the way in answering President Obama’s nationwide call to service. The NYC Service program has three main goals: channel the power of volunteers to address the impacts of the current economic downturn, make New York City the easiest city in America in which to serve, and ensure every young person in New York City is taught about civic engagement and has an opportunity to serve.

Dr. Susan G. Weinberger, Founder and President, MENTOR CONSULTING GROUP.  A leading authority on mentoring, Susan has been recognized for her expertise in establishing, maintaining, and evaluating school, corporate and community-based mentoring programs and school-to-work initiatives. Susan was a pioneer in designing and developing a school-based mentoring program, the Norwalk Mentor Program in the early 1980’s and served as its Director for 12 years. The program she designed has been replicated throughout the United States, and internationally including Bermuda and Canada.

Erica Hamilton, Chief Program Officer, iMentor. iMentor is a non-profit organization focused on improving the lives of students from underserved communities through innovative, technology-enabled mentoring.  As Chief Program Officer, Erica is responsible for defining and overseeing the growth, quality and innovation of iMentor programs both in New York City and nationally, including the development of external partnerships to increase iMentor’s visibility and impact. Erica joins iMentor with over ten years of experience managing programs and leading teams in the non-profit and private sectors.

Thomas Owens, Director, Communities In Schools of New Jersey Mentoring Success Center (MSC). As Director of the CiSNJ Mentoring Success Center, Thomas provides support services, training, and technical assistance to Newark (Essex County) based mentoring organizations. He is also responsible for building mentoring relationships between Newark Public Schools youth and committed corporate and government partners. The MSC has developed mentoring partnerships with iMentor Interactive, CISCO, Kraft Foods, Port Authority of NY & NJ, New Jersey Institute of Technology and many other to bring mentors to students in Newark and Essex County.

Join us in person or online.

And if you are here in person, snacks and drinks will be provided!

RSVP @ http://www.socializr.com/event/194832849

National Mentoring Month – Measure Results

Yesterday, we recommended setting program goals for your mentoring program.  Today, we recommend measuring your results.  What good are the goals if you don’t know when you’ve reached them?

The Nonprofit Good Practice Guide has some great suggestions for evaluating success, including data collection and different types of evaluation.  Check out some of these great evaluation tips!

National Mentoring Month – Eat Your Broccoli!

There aren’t too many of us who enjoy program evaluation.  But not unlike broccoli, it’s incredibly good for you!

As part of iMentor’s National Mentoring Month celebration, today we hosted a webinar titled, ” Eat Your Broccoli: Evaluation from a Funder’s Perspective.”  Our very own Jeremy Schifeling provided participants with insights into the mind of a foundation’s program officer, paying particular attention to how nonprofit evaluation plans are interpreted.  We had a fantastic turnout of nonprofit professionals throughout the country.  And as Jeremy stated, the quality and thoughtfulness of the questions “gave [his] brain quite a workout!”

We hope that all of those who were able to attend the webinar got some valuable information out of it.  And for those who could not attend, don’t despair!!  Check out the recorded webinar and let us know what you think.

And stay tuned for future iMentor Interactive webinar events.  Let us know if there are particular topics of interest!

National Mentoring Month – Week 3: Set Goals

iMentor’s theme for this third week of National Mentoring Month is Evaluation and Success.  We can all say that we’re doing great work.  But without proof of that great work through thoughtful evaluation, sustaining your success will be much more difficult or impossible.

This week we recommend that mentoring programs define SMART goals.  SMART stands for Specific/Measurable/Attainable/Relevant/Time-based.  Establishing your SMART goals is an important initial step in the process of evaluation.  Doing the work now will make your life so much easier down the line.

Check out the complete calendar of iMentor’s National Mentoring Month events and recommended activities for your mentoring program!

National Mentoring Month – Week 3 Begins

In honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, the third week of National Mentoring Month gets off to a special start with a national Day of Service.  Throughout the country, individuals and groups participated in volunteer opportunities to serve their local communities.

Did mentoring programs or individual mentor-mentee pairs take advantage of the 2010 King Day of Service as an opportunity to meet in-person and work on a service project together?  We’d love to hear your stories of volunteering.  Please share!

National Mentoring Month – Week 2, Day 5

Wrap up week two of National Mentoring Month by having your pairs share their story! Check out how Aaron and Jeremy describe their relationship.

National Mentoring Month – Week 2, Day 4

Want to help your mentees think more about their college experience and their future career? These Writing Prompts to help them graduate!

National Mentoring Month – Week 2, Day 3

Use these Writing Prompts to help your mentees exploretheir priorities in their personal life and develop a strong relationship with their mentor!