Resource for mentors and parents about how to explain terror to children and adolescents

The Chronicles of Evidence Based Mentoring, November 18, 2015

"The attacks in Paris raise difficult questions for mentors. Should mentors, teachers, and other caring adults shelter young people from stories and explanations, and shift conversation elsewhere. Although this might be a good idea in some instances, there may be situations when it’s helpful to talk through difficult topics with mentees. Particularly when young people are eager to discuss and understand, events such as this, when handled well, provide mentors, teachers, and other caring adults with profound “teachable moments.” As this powerful New York Times video points out, the best way to start is to respond to the young people’s questions in a clear, compassionate manner that they can understand.

Explaining terror to children

Of course, discussing politics, religion, and world events can be difficult, particularly when there are competing ideas about what is best for our country – ideas that are rooted in differing values, culture, and worldview? Promoting the welfare of a young person does, in many cases, require that mentors build rapport not only with mentees, but also with the mentees’ primary caregivers so that they may develop an understanding of the family’s circumstances, belief systems, and expectations. If mentors lack such sensitivity they can misuse their power with heavy-handed persuasion. Power differentials inherent in the ages and roles of adults and youth can widen when there are also differences in class and cultural backgrounds. Mentors may not even be aware of the social inequities driving these differentials or how these can play out in interpersonal relationships (Fisher, 1997). Mentors may express beliefs or opinions that are at odds with the experiences, values, and beliefs of their mentees, creating conflict for the young person. They should thus strive to refrain from religious or political proselytizing, raise their own awareness of power dynamics in cross-age and cross-cultural relationships, and seek consultation from mentoring programs to effectively negotiate these differentials. Training can be critical to the success of mentoring relationships. Moreover, programs can improve efforts to reach volunteer mentors with backgrounds more similar to the youth being served (Liang & Grossman, 2007)." Read more

Forming a bond

New mentoring program proposed to benefit high school pupils

Rocky Hill Life, August 2015

"Sometimes a teenager can benefit from forming a friendship with a caring adult who is not a parent or other family member. A bond is created that provides advice, life experiences and more, without any judgment.

That’s why the Rocky Hill Chamber of Commerce has begun the process of establishing a mentoring program at Rocky Hill High School. A committee led by Shane Dugan of Nutmeg State Federal Credit Union began meeting several months ago and the hope is to launch the program as soon as the new academic year begins at the end of August.

Stephanie Malkin is entering her 12th year as the school psychologist at Rocky Hill High School. She will coordinate matters with the chamber." Read more

For more information on Mentoring, click here

MENTOR Joins Forces with LinkedIn to Mobilize Members to Mentor

CSRwire (BOSTON), Aug. 05, 2015

"LinkedIn, the world's largest professional network on the Internet with 380 million members worldwide, is leveraging its powerful social media platform and community to mobilize members to mentor. MENTOR: The National Mentoring Partnership (MENTOR) is proud to team up with LinkedIn on this initiative to elevate the impact of mentoring relationships and call on more adults to mentor young people.

MENTOR’s research in a report called The Mentoring Effect found that young adults who were at risk for falling off track but who had a mentor were 55 percent more likely to go on to college and 78 percent more likely to volunteer regularly in their communities. Yet, one in three young people is reaching age 19 without ever connecting to a mentor either formally through a program or informally through family, community or social networks. MENTOR CEO David Shapiro shares his thoughts on mentoring's connection to growth and opportunity for young people in America via LinkedIn Pulse.

As MENTOR celebrates its 25th anniversary, this new joint venture is representative of the organization’s efforts over 25 years to build a movement in support of quality youth mentoring relationships." Read more

For more information on mentoring, click here

Auburn kids enjoy First Niagara Mentor Matters Appreciation Picnic

Syracuse.com, July 23, 2015

"Eighty kids enjoyed the First Niagara Mentoring Matters Appreciation Picnic at the Booker T. Washington Community Center in Auburn on Thursday July 23rd 2015. The kids had a cook out and played games on a perfect summer afternoon as they celebrated their mentoring program sponsored by First Niagara.

First Niagara and BTW staffers worked together to provide the food for the kids. The six-week mentoring program was funded by the First Niagara Mentoring Matters Grant. Niagara First has been providing the grants for organizations in Central New York since 2007.

'The First Niagara Mentoring Matters Grant has made a huge impact on the students that we serve. Not only are we able to tell the students how truly special they are we can now show them. Having a mentor builds self-esteem and boosts confidence levels which encourage the development of an optimistic outlook when striving to achieve positive outcomes in life.' said BTW Executive Director Denise Farrington." Read more

For more information on mentoring, click here

Becoming a father figure: Local men making big impact

Mentors, role models, brothers and fathers all have a positive impact on their charges.
THMEDIA.COM, June 21, 2015

"In Washington Park on a warm Monday afternoon, a man kicks a soccer ball toward a young boy who squeals in delight as he returns it.

Jon Peiffer, 25, has been mentoring Christian Dias, 9, for a year. It was something Peiffer always wanted to do, and now, he had time. So he contacted Mentor Dubuque, previously known as Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Dubuque.

'This is my opportunity to give back,' Peiffer said. 'I had really amazing parents, and I was taught when you're blessed with something, you pay it forward.'" Read more

For more information about mentoring, visit our resource center here

Restoring cars and fostering hope

Chicago Tribune, June 8, 2015

“Just in time for Father's Day is a story about two Chicago dads who want to share their skills because they know the importance of having a strong father figure.

Carlos Rhodes and Kenny Trotter, of the Beverly community, grew up in tough neighborhoods — Robbins and the Englewood community — but both credit their fathers and grandfathers for giving them a strong sense of what it is to be a man and a father.

Today, perhaps not even consciously, both men are honoring their dads and granddads by launching a mentoring program for disadvantaged youth. Calling their program Mach 1 Mentoring, the men are using their own money and freely giving their time to rehab a building they bought in Blue Island. They are in the last stages of fixing up the space so they can bring in old cars that young people will restore to showroom quality.” Read more 

For more information about mentoring, visit our Resource Center here.

Racial discrimination and ethnic identity in Latina/o youth

The Chronicle of Evidenced Based Mentoring, May 28, 2015


"Ali Mroczkowski, my student, and I recently published a study on the roles of adult racial discrimination and ethnic identity in Latina/o youth’s perception of the economic value of education (Mroczkowski & Sánchez, 2015). The youth in our study were high school students who were mostly from ethnically homogenous communities and schools. Thus, there might not have been much opportunity to experience racial discrimination from adults, and as such, students generally reported no to little racial discrimination from adults. However, even experiencing just a little discrimination was enough to be related to lower perceptions of the economic value of education. The more racial discrimination that youth reported in 9th grade, the less they perceived in 10th grade that earning an education would pay off economically. In fact, we found that this relationship was only supported for the male students in our study. It seems that Latino male students are more sensitive to the negative effects of racial discrimination on their values and attitudes toward education.

But we found that ethnic identity can play a protective role in the negative effects of racial discrimination. A stronger ethnic identity weakened the negative effect of racial discrimination on male students’ perception of the economic value of education.” Read more

For more information on Understanding the Needs of Latino Families, view our webinar here.

How Mentoring Builds Business Insight

Forbes, April 14, 2015

"With National Volunteer Week currently underway, now is a good time to look at how businesses can make positive impacts on their communities – and their bottom line – through youth mentoring. Numerous studies suggest that youth who have been mentored are more likely to be successful in school, become leaders in their communities and enter young adulthood with better opportunities for ongoing education and career choices.

Yet some 16 million American youth — one in three — will reach the age of 19 without ever having had a mentor of any kind, according to The Mentoring Effect. Public investment in mentoring has plateaued for many years, and an endless parade of grim statistics about the dim prospects for our nation’s youth reminds us that mentoring is more critical than ever.

To scale mentoring into a movement that could have a lasting impact, businesses need to encourage greater investments, constant innovation and improvement. At the National Mentoring Summit held in Washington, DC, this winter, we issued a call to action for more companies to start or enhance mentoring programs for our nation’s youth. We need businesses to step up because businesses have access to precisely what at-risk youth need – tens of thousands of dedicated human beings who can help the next generation succeed!" Read More.

Visit The Governor's Prevention Partnership website here to find a mentoring program near you.

“Gang” Of Mentoring Men Scores

The New Haven Independent, April 6, 2015

"Jayson Frasier wasn’t talking. Asked questions, he responded with one-word, nonchalant answers. Montrel Morrison pulled him aside—and schooled him on how to speak with adults.

It was a low-stakes encounter: an interview with a reporter.

It was a high-stakes subject: How to help foundering teens find direction with the help of a responsible adult.

Morrison, who is 23, plays that role for Frasier. The interview offered an example of how he does that.

He and Frasier were being interviewed about winning a $10,000 grant for their mentoring organization Gang of Dads. The pair submitted the winning video to First Niagara’s video contest called “Mentor Stories” to highlight quality mentoring programs in Connecticut, beating out almost 100 other mentoring groups statewide." Read More.

Click here to find a mentoring program in your area!

Comcast Awards Grant to Leadership Greater Hartford Youth Program

The Hartford Courant, March 26, 2015

"Leadership Greater Hartford (LGH) announced today that it has received a $2,500 grant from Comcast to support their Common Ground youth leadership program.

Common Ground is a fifteen-week program that engages high school students from the Greater Hartford area for training in leadership, diversity awareness, and community problem solving. Every year since 1988, a diverse group of 40 students, from urban and suburban high schools throughout the region, has participated in Common Ground. Bloomfield, Bulkeley, Classical Magnet, East Hartford, Glastonbury, South Windsor, Suffield, and the University High School of Science and Engineering participated in the 2014 Common Ground program. The 2015 semester begins September 23, 2015.

According to Ted Carroll, President of Leadership Greater Hartford, 'Our community needs to grow tomorrow's leaders today. Fortunately, companies like Comcast recognize this need and have stepped up in a big way to address it. We are very grateful for their belief in young people and in the future of the community.'" Read More.

Visit The Partnership's website here to find a youth mentoring program in your area.

Mentoring Programs Aim to Increase High School Graduates

U.S. News & World Report, March 23, 2015

"More students than ever are graduating high school and gaps in achievement among racial groups are closing.

But for teens who didn’t graduate high school, having a caring adult in their life might have made a difference. Mentoring is one effective strategy to prevent dropouts promoted by the National Dropout Prevention Center/Network." Read More.

Click here to find a mentoring program in your area.

Enfield Schools Mentor Program Seeking Volunteers

The Hartford Courant, March 19, 2015

"Enfield School district officials are seeking interested volunteers to expand the district's mentoring program.

Jaime Cowles, vice president and banking center manager in Webster Bank's Enfield branch, has been a mentor for six years.

'The particular mentee I'm working with, after two months of meeting, she started improving in school, she opened up more," Cowles said. "She started bringing a lot more light to our meetings.'" Read More.

Visit our website here to find mentoring programs in your area.

Democrats Reintroduce Anti-Bullying Bill in Congress

Metro Weekly, March 18, 2015

"Democratic lawmakers on Capitol Hill reintroduced anti-bullying legislation Wednesday that seeks to prohibit harassment on college campuses.

Sens. Patty Murray (Wash.) and Tammy Baldwin (Wisc.) reintroduced the Tyler Clementi Higher Education Anti-Harassment Act in the Senate with five cosponsors and Rep. Mark Pocan (Wisc.) reintroduced the bill in the House of Representatives with 27 cosponsors.

The bill would require institutions of higher education receiving federal student aid funding to establish policies that prohibit harassment based on actual or perceived race, color, national origin, sex, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or religion and would allocate federal aid to assist in establishing such policies. The proposed legislation also establishes a grant program at the Department of Education to support campus anti-harassment activities and programs, such as training and counseling." Read More.

Visit our Parent Resource Center here for more information on how to handle or prevent bullying.

Mentoring and Social Media: New Research Guides Policy and Practice

The Chronicle of Evidence Based Mentoring, March 10, 2015

"Digital communication (e.g. texting, emailing, Facebook, etc.) is increasingly changing how today’s youth communicate within their social and family networks. Research exists on how digital media is used in family and peer relationships, but there is a lack of research exploring use of digital media in formal youth mentoring relationships.

This study is a critical first step toward the assessment of current practices, measurement of impact, and evaluation of the perceptions of program staff regarding use of digital communication between mentors and their mentees. Results from this study are relevant to youth-serving program staff and academics that are interested in conducting future research on this subject." Read more.

For more information on mentoring programs in Connecticut visit our Youth Mentoring page here.

Positive School Climate

Connecticut Council for Education Reform, March 4, 2015

"Bloomfield’s third priority area focuses on developing a positive school climate. The district seeks to meet the National School Climate Standards by creating supportive communities of learners who demonstrate enthusiasm for learning and respect for one another. For students to be able to focus on learning, they need to feel comfortable and safe in their school environment. All Bloomfield schools have embraced this goal and are implementing it in a variety of ways.

Bloomfield High School has developed a mentoring program that matches every student in the school with an adult mentor. Every other Wednesday, mentors meet with their mentees to see how they are doing School Climate2and to provide assistance, if necessary. They conference with students after each benchmark assessment and celebrate success with student assemblies once a month. The High School is working hard to create a culture of high expectations for all students, including Advanced Placement (AP) courses that are growing in participation, and additional supports to help students reach their potential. Athletics and arts programs are also highly acclaimed at Bloomfield High School." Read More.

Visit our mentoring page here for more information on mentoring programs available within Connecticut.

Comcast Gets Into Mentoring In A Big Way

The New Britain Herald, March 1, 2015

"For nearly every holiday, about 25 students from Lincoln Elementary School in New Britain make the short trip to neighboring Berlin, pull into the parking lot of Comcast’s Western New England regional office and share some time with their Big Brothers and Big Sisters.

Recently, there was a whole lot of laughter, just as much bonding, and tons of creativity on display as the New Britain youngsters gathered to celebrate Valentine’s Day." Read More.

More information on mentoring programs in Connecticut can be found here.

Prevention Program Leader Inspires Berlin For Decades

The Hartford Courant, February 19, 2015


"Fresh out of the University of Massachusetts in 1968 with a bachelor's in health and physical education and looking for a job, Alice Mitchell got as far as Berlin and stopped.

'It seemed like a really nice community,' Mitchell said when asked why she picked Berlin High School to start her career in education. For the first seven years, she taught health and physical education. Then in the mid-70s she earned a master's in counseling and left the classroom behind." Read More.

Visit our Resource Center for more information about mentoring and prevention programs in Connecticut.

There’s Still Time to Help Greater New Haven’s ‘Gang of Dads’ Win $10K Grant

The New Haven Register, February 9, 2015

"To raise awareness about the community benefits of mentoring programs, and in observance of National Mentoring Month, First Niagara Bank created the “2015 First Niagara Mentoring Matters Grant Giveaway.”

The Greater New Haven Help Alliance’s 'Gang of Dads' program is a finalist, among seven others, for the grant giveaway’s $10,000 grand prize. There is also a $4,000 second place price and there are six runner-up slots for $1,000 grants." Read More.

For more information on mentoring programs available in Connecticut, visit our Resource Center here.

Why I Mentor: One Software Engineer Tells Her Story

Forbes Online, February 5, 2015


"I am a builder.

I build cloud solutions. I even built my own house. And throughout my career as an engineer, I also have learned to build valuable relationships as a mentor inside and outside of the workplace.

I learned a lot about being a good mentor through the many people who have mentored me in my own career. I have had mentors who have enhanced my technical skills and business acumen or served as an emotional rock and professional guide. I’ve had both male and female mentors, and in all cases, they helped accelerate my career and bring me to where I am today." Read More.

Visit our Resource Center for more information on mentoring programs in Connecticut.

AHM Lanterns Mentoring Program Celebrates 15 Years

The Hartford Courant, February 3, 2015

"This year, the AHM Lanterns Mentoring Program celebrates 15 years. In 2000, Andover Elementary School was the first to sign on. Andover served as the model to help launch the program, which today is in the Hebron, Marlborough and RHAM schools. More than 200 participants have been part of Lanterns since 2000, according to an AHM press release.

According to the National Office of Juvenile Justice, mentor programs have been shown to improve youth's self-esteem, behavior, and academic performance. Children who enroll in mentoring programs are less likely to use drugs and more likely to complete their education and have a more productive life." Read More.

Visit our Resource Center here to learn more about mentoring programs in Connecticut.