Tag Archive for: Volunteers

Search and you shall find!: (Re)discovering a treasure-trove of articles and stories

  by Jean Rhodes Since 2012, the Chronicle of Evidence-Based Mentoring has featured summaries of peer-reviewed journal articles, mentoring news, practice innovations, conversations with experts, and more. Although you might not always have time to read the Chronicle when it lands in your inbox, the articles don’t go away! In fact a repository of our […]

Why mentoring matters, and how to get started

By Lizz Schumer, New York Times My first desk had an inert hand grenade in one corner and a notebook in another. As a public relations assistant to Kathy Hochul, the Erie County clerk at the time, my job was to make the office (and by extension, Ms. Hochul) look good. The grenade reminded me that it […]

New research investigates the challenges and successes of Y-A Partnerships

Heffernan, O. S., Herzog, T. M., Schiralli, J. E., Hawke, L. D., Chaim, G., & Henderson, J. L. (2017). Implementation of a youth-adult partnership model in youth mental health systems research: Challenges and successes. Health Expectations, 20, 1183-1188. doi:10.1111/hex.12554 Summarized by Renée Klein Schaarsberg Notes of Interest: This article describes the implementation of the McCain […]

Profiles in Mentoring: Rich Greif of BBBS Massachusetts Bay on match support, tech in mentoring, and more

Written by Maaike Kroes and Iris Kools Rich Greif is the vice president of Marketing, Communications and Community Relations of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Massachusetts Bay (BBBSMB). He oversees all the volunteer and youth recruitment, as well as all the marketing and branding for the agency. Rich first got involved with mentoring when he […]

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 […]

“Then a miracle occurs:” Why we need a better understanding of youth mentoring

by Jean Rhodes Early in my career, I developed a conceptual model of youth mentoring that, to my surprise, has been a remarkably durable and useful heuristic. It has been applied to formal and natural mentoring relationships and used to explain everything from short-term, goal-focused relationships with classroom volunteers to lifelong bonds with devoted grandparents. […]

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 […]

Ask Not What Your Mentor Can Do for You. . .: The Role of Reciprocal Exchange in Maintaining Student–Teacher Mentorships

Editor’s note: I stumbled across this impressive study and, more generally, the work of rising star, Sherelle Ferguson. Sherelle is a doctoral student in the sociology dept. at the University of Pennsylvania where she has been studying mentoring, social class, and social networks. This study explores the important role that mentees play in maintaining relationships, […]

Informal mentors increase help-seeking behavior in young male apprentices

  Corney, T., & du Plessis, K. (2016) Apprentices’ mentoring relationships: The role of ‘significant others’ and supportive relationships across the work-life domain. Youth Studies Australia, 29 (3), 18-26. Introduction: The workplace and vocational training setting can be a stressful environment for young men. Due to their own hesitancy to engage in help-seeking behavior, as […]

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 […]