Tag Archive for: Retention

New research investigates mentoring for youth with chronic health problems

Summarized by Kirsten Christensen Lipman, E. L., DeWit, D., DuBois, D. L., Larose, S., & Erdem, G. (2018). Youth with chronic health problems: how do they fare in main-stream mentoring programs? BMC Public Health, 18(1), 102.   Notes of Interest: This article highlights the positive effects associated with youth with chronic health issues’ involvement in mainstream mentoring programs […]

How Formal Mentoring Programs Can Facilitate Natural Mentoring Relationships

by Sarah Schwartz  I recently had the privilege of being part of a conversation organized by the Mentoring Partnership of Southwestern Pennsylvania on what mentoring programs can do to facilitate natural mentoring relationships. The conversation was prompted in part by  findings that emerged from  the new Mentoring Effect report, stating that youth are more likely […]

What we can learn from a “glittering ounce” of good news

“Good news is rare these days, and every glittering ounce of it should be cherished and hoarded and worshiped and fondled like a priceless diamond.” -Hunter S. Thompson by Jean Rhodes Let us take a moment to recognize an extraordinary mentoring program that recently produced remarkably promising findings. The Arches Transformative Mentoring program has delivered […]

Q & A with Professor Buffy Smith, author of new book that explores mentoring high risk college students

The Hidden Curriculum Charlie Tyson (reposted from Inside Higher Education) In recent years, many colleges and universities have turned to mentoring programs in an attempt to retain underperforming students. Federally supported mentoring programs have been around since the Higher Education Act of 1965, which created student services programs such as Upward Bound, said Stephanie Gordon, vice […]

New research shows that volunteering can help keep older adults’ minds sharp

Posted by Sheena Rice, futurity.org Volunteering may improve cognitive function of older adults, especially for women and those with lower levels of education. While the links of volunteering to physical health are well known, its associations with mental functioning are less clear. “Cognitive functions, such as memory, working memory, and processing are essential for living […]

Youth-initiated mentoring: An idea whose time has come

by Jean Rhodes A growing number of studies have demonstrated the benefits of youth-initiated mentoring (YIM). Rather than being assigned a mentor, young people are provided with the skills and scaffolding to recruit caring adults from within their own networks. Last week, we highlighted a study in which Dutch researchers successfully demonstrated the effectiveness of this […]

Facebook is testing a feature for mentorships between users

by Ingrid Lunden (@ingridlunden) Next Story Earlier this year, Facebook signaled a plan to move into LinkedIn’s territory with the launch of job advertising. Now it appears to be taking another step to help develop the professional you. TechCrunch has learned that Facebook is testing a way to use its social network to link up users who are looking for […]

What keeps a mentor engaged? New research sheds some light.

Larsson, M., Pettersson, C., Eriksson, C., & Skoog, T. (2016). Initial motives and organizational context enabling female mentors’ engagement in formal mentoring–A qualitative study from the mentors’ perspective. Children and Youth Services Review, 71, 17-26. Summarized by Kirsten Christensen   Introduction Youth have a strong need to develop close relationships with those around them to succeed developmentally. […]

JAY Z’s 4:44 is a Mentoring Album and Here is Why

JAY Z’s 4:44 is a Mentoring Album and Here is Why By Torrie Weiston, Ph.D. Yeah, I said it, 4:44 is a mentoring album and here is why… It does not take very long into the album before listeners realize that there is a maturity in JAY Z’s tone. His raw talent and ability to […]

FORUM: What is your most effective mentor recruitment message?

Mentoring programs are becoming increasingly sophisticated in how they recruit mentors and the messages they use to get volunteers to take the plunge and formally apply to be a mentor. Large national organizations might hire leading advertising firms to carefully craft their recruitment messages, but even the smallest local programs can come up with a […]