In an effort to bring together mentoring professionals to celebrate success and collaborate on future efforts, we have planned a number of events that may interest you and your team. Check out some of the highlighted events below or our National Mentoring Month Calendar full of ways to contribute to the national mentoring movement in January!

For Current and Potential Volunteers in NYC	For Current and Potential Mentoring Program Partners anywhere in the US
Wednesday, January 6th–2-3pm EST Online Chat: Why Does Mentoring Matter? (for current and prospective iMentor volunteers in NYC) RSVP!
Thursday, January 7th–6:15pm EST Mentor Training iMentor’s Office 30 Broad St., 9th Fl, NYC RSVP!	Thursday, January 7th–6-8pm EST NMM Kick-Off Happy Hour Stone Creek NYC 140 E. 27th St., NYC RSVP!
Wednesday, January 13th–6pm EST iConnect Happy Hour Stone Creek NYC 140 E. 27th St., NYC RSVP!
Tuesday, January 19th–2-3pm EST Online Chat: How do you measure success? (for current and prospective iMentor volunteers in NYC) RSVP! Online Donor Drive Launches (for current iMentor NYC volunteers) Learn More
	Wednesday, January 20th–2-3pm Webinar: Eat Your Broccoli–Evaluation from a Funder’s Perspective RSVP!
Tuesday, January 26th–6pm EST iConnect Happy Hour Stone Creek NYC 140 E. 27th St., NYC RSVP!
Wednesday, January 27th–6:15pm EST Mentor Training iMentor’s Office 30 Broad St., 9th Fl, NYC RSVP!
Thursday, January 28th–6pm-8pm Panel Discussion: What is the Future of the National Mentoring Movement? Via webinar and @ iMentor’s Office 30 Broad St., 9th Fl, NYC RSVP!

]]> http://imentorinteractive.wordpress.com/2009/12/22/celebrate-national-mentoring-month-with-imentor/feed/ 0 mahureau http://imentorinteractive.wordpress.com/2009/12/17/recruit-mentors-on-google-for-free/ http://imentorinteractive.wordpress.com/2009/12/17/recruit-mentors-on-google-for-free/#comments Thu, 17 Dec 2009 23:13:00 +0000 imijeremy http://imentorinteractive.wordpress.com/?p=468 ]]>

One of our intrepid iMi members, Boston Scholars Program, has come across a snazzy way to get free advertising on Google – via Google Maps. Even though BSP is a relatively small organization, it’s now the #1 search result for “volunteer in boston!”

You can find out more here. Thanks to Compliments International for a great explanation of the process!

Do you have a ton of old data sitting around in filing cabinets? Would you like to get it off the paper and into your database? If so, you may want to check out a great data capture tool I recently discovered: PDF to Excel. This little application will let you scan your old paper files into your computer and convert them to spreadsheet files that you can then import into your database.

It sure beats entering all that data by hand!

And best of all, they have a Social Involvement Program that offers free licenses of the software to organizations serving kids.

Pretty cool, right?

iMentor’s curriculum offerings are designed to support mentor-mentee pairs as they develop their relationship over email. The curriculum facilitates email communication by providing weekly writing/discussion prompts for both mentors and mentees. Using a curriculum is one of the best ways to make sure mentee and mentor relationships are progressing in their relationship. (Writing prompts are summarized below but full text can be found in iMi)

Getting to Know You Writing Prompts

Making These Statements My Own

Mentors and mentees get to know each other by finishing ten, fun statements about their lives, their likes and dislikes, ambitions, plans for the future, etc. This prompt is designed as a fun and relaxed way for mentors and mentees to make their email introductions.

My Morning Routine: Now and the Future

Mentees describe their morning routines as a way of introducing their home, family, neighborhood and school to their mentors. Mentees then imagine their dream life twenty years from now and write a second fictional morning routine of their imagined future life. Mentors reply with a description of their current morning routine and their imagined morning routine 20 years from now.

Cuisine & Culture

Renowned writer George Bernard Shaw says the following about food: “There is no sincerer love than the love of food.” We all have a different relationship to food, but for many of us, the food we eat, the food we don’t eat, and how we prepare food are all part of the traditions in our individual cultures. Describe your favorite dish that is traditional to your culture. Why is it your favorite dish?

iMentor’s curriculum offerings are designed to support mentor-mentee pairs as they develop their relationship over email. The curriculum facilitates email communication by providing weekly writing/discussion prompts for both mentors and mentees. Using a curriculum is one of the best ways to make sure mentee and mentor relationships are progressing in their relationship. (Writing prompts are summarized below but full text can be found in iMi)

Personal

5 Things I MUST do in my lifetime

“There is so much to do and so little time to do it” is a familiar expression and generally reflects the way most of us feel. As we learn new things and discover what the world around us has to offer, our life’s “to do” list continues to grow. For example, something personal you might want to do is learn how to play the instrument. Something professional you might want to do is own your own business.

1. I must TRAVEL here:
2. I must accomplish this in my CAREER:
3. I must LEARN how to:
4. I must MEET this person:
5. I must READ this:

New Year’s Resolutions

Mentors and mentees share their New Year’s resolutions with each other. Each person shares two resolutions and discuss what they each hope to accomplish in the coming year. [Note: This prompt is intended for use after returning from the December vacation.]

Doing Something “Good” When No One Is Looking

Imagine this scenario: you are paying for your smoothie at Jamba Juice and the cashier turns around to do something else just as you put a dollar in the tip jar. She didn’t witness you doing something “good”, which in this case was putting a tip in the tip jar. When someone witnesses us doing something “good”, we often receive praise for our actions, which feels exciting. But when no one is looking or sees us when we do our good deed, we either don’t receive praise or our actions go unnoticed. When was the last time you did something “good” when no one was looking? Did you wish that your good deed was noticed?

iMentor’s curriculum offerings are designed to support mentor-mentee pairs as they develop their relationship over email. The curriculum facilitates email communication by providing weekly writing/discussion prompts for both mentors and mentees. Using a curriculum is one of the best ways to make sure mentee and mentor relationships are progressing in their relationship. (Writing prompts are summarized below but full text can be found in iMi)

High School

Note Taking 101

Mentee challenge: Go to www.lyricsmania.com and search for the lyrics to your favorite song. Once you find the lyrics, read through the entire song. As you are reading, write down three main ideas from the song and email it to your mentor. The main ideas you discuss should help your mentor understand WHAT the song is about, WHO you think the song was written for, and WHY you think people like the song. This challenge is an exercise in note taking! How strong are your note taking skills? What are your note taking strengths and what do you need to improve upon?

What’s Important to Me?

Civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. once said, “If a man hasn’t found something worth dying for, then he isn’t fit to live.” Dr. King dedicated his adult life to fighting for civil rights. He also died fighting for civil rights. While Dr. King was willing to die for what was most important to him, most people aren’t willing to do the same. Instead, many people of us live our lives knowing what’s important to us and we commit ourselves to honoring that importance. For example, if education is important to you, you might decide to become a teacher. If saving lives is important to you, you might decide to apply to medical school to become a doctor. What in your life is most important to you? Describe the importance and its impact on your life.

What I Know about College/What I Want to Know about College

Mentees list 5 facts about college that they think they know for certain and 5 questions that they would like to learn more about. Mentees have the chance to ask their mentors practical details about attending college as well as to have their mentors dispel myths about higher education. Mentors respond with personal anecdotes of their college experience, reflecting on how college was similar to and different from their high school expectations.

iMentor’s curriculum offerings are designed to support mentor-mentee pairs as they develop their relationship over email. The curriculum facilitates email communication by providing weekly writing/discussion prompts for both mentors and mentees. Using a curriculum is one of the best ways to make sure mentee and mentor relationships are progressing in their relationship. (Writing prompts are summarized below but full text can be found in iMi)

College and Career

College Dollars & Sense (follow up with SCA workshops & panels)

Financing your college education requires more than just paying your tuition: it requires that you understand how to properly manage money. As a college student, you will most likely be expected to make decisions about loans and credit as well as manage financial statements such as your tuition bills. Describe how knowledgeable you already feel about making decisions about college finances and how to manage your money. What questions do you have right for your mentor about how money works in college?

Choosing a College Major

Before you declare (officially choose) your major, you have the opportunity to explore classes in the academic subjects you might be interested in to help you decide. There is no formula for choosing a major: simply start by thinking about what your personal and academic interests are and how you think they can translate into a major.  What are your academic and personal interests? Tell your mentor which college majors would match your current interests.

From High School Teacher to the College Professor

Forming relationships with your college professors is important. According to the College Board, these relationships are critical in “enriching your overall college experience”. If you currently have good relationships with your high school teachers, establishing strong relationships with your college professors may be easy. On the other hand, relationships with your college professors may be challenging if it has been difficult to form strong relationships with your high school teachers.

Describe your expectations for your relationships with your college professors. How will those relationships be similar to or different from the relationships you currently have with your high school teachers?

Networking 101

How comfortable would you feel at a career fair introducing yourself with a firm handshake and talking about yourself to potential employers? How about telling a job representative what your personal strengths are? What about following up with a potential employer after meeting her and expressing interest in applying for the job? These are all examples of networking skills. In every area of your life – personal, academic, or professional – networking is critical. Networking requires that you are able to communicate well with people, which includes the ability to hold a conversation, make good eye contact, give a firm handshake and know how to ask for what you want. Tell your mentor three of your strongest networking skills. Where do you need to improve?

The Best Interview Ever

How would you respond if you were asked the following in a job interview: “Why should this company hire you?” What would you say if during a job interview a future employer asked you to give yourself a grade for the effort you make when working in a group? What would you talk about if you were asked to discuss a current political issue during an interview? Sometimes questions in job interviews go beyond the topic of the actual job, and you are asked to talk about yourself or your beliefs in ways that are unexpected. Feeling prepared and confident for any question can really help you do well during an interview! What are three ways you can prepare to have a successful job interview? How will you prepare to answer unexpected questions such as why you should be hired, how you contribute to team projects, or what current political issue is important to you?

You have to watch this incredible video about Year Up NYC. It’s one of the simplest but most powerful videos about social change that I’ve ever seen:

That’s right, even Oprah Winfrey had a mentor! This is a great article from whomentoredyou.org that gives a brief description of the impact Ms. Duncan made on Oprah’s life. It is one more example, among many, of how powerful a mentor (a colleague, friend, a formal mentor, or even a teacher like in Oprah’s case) can be.

Oprah has inspired and impacted millions of Americans and people worldwide. Despite her announcement regarding her last days as the Queen of talk shows, she will certainly continue to make a difference. Without a doubt, at sometime, Oprah may have also mentored; a great reason why mentoring is one of the best ways to “pay it forward”.

To read further, please click here:

http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/chc/wmy2008/Celebrities/oprah_winfrey.html

Chase Community Giving is leveraging the power of social media to donate $5MM to various charities this winter. Facebook users worldwide are voting for nonprofits that they believe in, and charities with the most votes will win between $25K and $1MM!

It is incredibly easy to vote and will definitely make an impact.

Click below to vote for iMentor and your favorite organizations!

Chase Community Giving Contest on Facebook