Entries by Jean Rhodes

Bill Russell played ultimate mentor role 

By MARTY MARTINEZ and DAVID SHAPIRO reprinted from MassLive This fall has provided further evidence that Boston is the ultimate sports town – evidenced not only by our teams’ success on the field but also for the role our athletes play in strengthening our community. On Nov. 1, the city of Boston celebrated a sports […]

Toxic stress in children–and what programs can do to help

From the New York Times Imagine if scientists discovered a toxic substance that increased the risks of cancer, diabetes and heart, lung and liver disease for millions of people. Something that also increased one’s risks for smoking, drug abuse, suicide, teen pregnancy, sexually transmitted disease, domestic violence and depression — and simultaneously reduced the chances […]

Must Read: Special Issue on Military Children and Families

Prestigious journal The Future of Children has devoted its latest issue to Military Children and Families. This issue is the result of a collaboration with the Military Child Coalition.  Unlike most academic journals, FOC grants full access to readers. This special issue is a treasure trove. The editors  Stephen J. Cozza (Retired Army Colonel) and Richard M. Lerner […]

University of Houston: A new hub of youth mentoring research

Meet Assistant Professor Samuel McQuillin I am a school psychologist by training, and as such, my primary research interest surrounds school-based interventions and supports that promote the emotional, behavioral, and academic wellness of youth. Currently I am refining and evaluating a brief school-based mentoring program for middle-school students. The goal of this work is to develop […]

Now available online: Group Mentoring: Bridging Research and Effective Practice

Group Mentoring: Bridging Research and Effective Practice NOW AVAILABLE ONLINE Group mentoring is an increasingly popular strategy for providing positive relationships and activities to youth in need. In fact, over 20% of youth mentoring programs offer some form of group mentoring, while a survey of American volunteers finds that over half say they work with […]

MENTOR, Pivot TV Pair Pop Culture with Social Action

October 2013 Joe Halpern, MENTOR Writer MENTOR has begun an exciting partnership with Pivot TV, a new cable television network that targets talented and passionate 18 to 34 year old Millennials, to encourage viewers to explore mentoring programs as part of a year-long social action initiative on the channel’s new hit docu-series, “Jersey Strong”. The […]

Mentoring youth promotes cognitive gains in older adults

Carlson, M.C. et al. (2009). Evidence for Neurocognitive Plasticity in At-Risk Older Adults: The Experience Corps Program. Journal of  Gerontology  64A (12): 1275-1282. Posted by Tim Parsons-JHU Older adults who tutored children or took part in some other form of volunteer service were able to delay or even reverse declining brain function, a new study finds. Using […]

Teen Social Struggles Can Last Into Adulthood

Allen, J. P., Chango, J. and Szwedo, D. (2013), The Adolescent Relational Dialectic and the Peer Roots of Adult Social Functioning. Child Development. doi: 10.1111/cdev.12106 Posted by Fariss Samarrai-Virginia U. VIRGINIA (US) — Most teens who fail to build strong, independent relationships with peers continue to have social and romantic issues into adulthood, a study shows. […]

Flying to Vienna will help Big Brothers Big Sisters!

www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/suburbs/community/chi-ugc-article-austrian-airlines-partners-with-big-brothers-2013-10-18,0,4500214.story Austrian Airlines Partners with Big Brothers Big Sisters to Help Build Local Community Austrian Airlines Partners with Big Brothers Big Sisters to Help Build Local Community Airline uses celebration of direct flights to Vienna as fundraiser for Big Brothers Big Sisters Chicago, IL – October 15, 2013 – Austrian Airlines and Big Brothers Big […]