Posts

Can you schedule fun? Implications for Mentors

Written by Erika Ebsworth-Goold-WUSTL Life moves fast, and finding enough hours in the day to get everything done is, at times, a seemingly impossible task. Scheduling—whether keeping a calendar, a to-do list, or setting a smartphone reminder—is a saving grace for many people trying to accomplish as much as they can, as efficiently as they […]

The Seeds of Extreme Self-Criticism Can Have Deadly Results: Implications for Mentors

Written by Michael O. Schroeder, U.S. News From a very early age, we learn – in a manner of speaking – to nitpick ourselves. We take information from those we encounter and the world around us to fine-tune how we act and who we are, taking note of what doesn’t work in an ongoing internal dialogue that stretches […]

How To Talk To Kids About Tragic Events

Written by Kelly Wallace, CNN After a horrific event like the terrorism in Brussels or the Paris attacks, parents are faced with this dilemma: What do I tell my kids? How can I talk to them about something so senseless and indiscriminate? About something that we can’t make sense of ourselves? “When we feel ourselves […]

Part 2: A Novel Program Provides a Network of Support for At-Risk Youth

How a Tapestry of Care Helps Teens Succeed By David Bornstein In the second installment of a two-part series on Thread, the Baltimore-based social support program, author David Bornstein revisits the organization and examines the structural aspects of its programmatic success. From the author’s description of Thread’s programming, “The organization works with public high school […]

Mentors Serve as “Facilitators of Change” for Ex-Offenders

Garcia, J. (2015). The Importance of the Mentor–Mentee Relationship in Women’s Desistance From Destructive Behaviors. International journal of offender therapy and comparative criminology, 0306624X14568257. Summary by Justin Preston     INTRODUCTION Desistance, the ongoing process of change in which individuals reduce their involvement in destructive acts, is not a matter of sudden, all-or-nothing transformation that […]

The power of stories in youth mentoring

By Jean Rhodes There’s a familiar pattern to the many mentoring events that I have attended over the years. After the networking, thanks, and announcements, attendees are often introduced to a bright young person and his or her triumphant, odds beating story. Oftentimes, we meet the kind volunteer mentor who, through thick and thin, stayed by the young person’s side. I’m […]

How Mentoring a Refugee Helped My Own Transition

Photo: Bonninstudio Written by Heather Mangan Sarah’s house smells like rice, and there are 10-pound bags of it lying in the corner of this one-bedroom apartment. Instead of a sofa and end tables, there are two beds in the living room. One is alongside the space’s only window, and the other is on the opposite […]

New Research Identifies Relationship Quality as Key to Successful School-Based Mentoring

Bayer, A., Grossman, J., & DuBois, D. L. (2015). Using volunteer mentors to improve the academic outcomes of underserved students: The role of relationships. Journal of Community Psychology. Summarized by Jessica Cunningham, B.A., Research Associate, Center for Evidence-Based Mentoring Background: Many schools facing financial hardship are turning to low-cost ways of identifying and supporting students […]

New study explores mentor relationship beginnings

DeWitt, D. J., Lipman, E. L., Da Costa, J., Graham, K., Larose, S., Pepler, D., Coyle, J., DuBois, D., Manzano-Munguia, M, & Ferro, A. (2016). Predictors of early versus late match relationship beginnings in Big Brothers Big Sisters community programs. Children and Youth Services Review. doi: Summarized by Jessica Cunningham, B.A., Research Associate, Center for Evidence-Based Mentoring Background: […]

Mentor gets student over the roadblock to college

Written by Alison Martin Shakyra Ragsdale (left) got a scare when trying to raise money for college, but her mentor, Jamila Trimuel, got her through.  In August 2014, no college freshman was more eager to start school than Shakyra Ragsdale, then 18. Bound for Tennessee State University, Shakyra dreamed of her first day of classes […]