Posts

It Takes a Community: Nine Principles for Effective Youth Services Organizations

From Peter Samuelson In 2014, the Thrive Foundation searched across the nation for organizations providing services to disadvantaged youth nationwide with a caring adult at the center of their program delivery model and found eight exemplary organizations. Led by Thrive’s Director of Research and Evaluation, Peter Samuelson, Ph.D., the foundation then embarked on an evaluation to […]

The power of many: Why schools are embracing broader formal and informal mentoring networks

Written by Alyza Sebenius, The Atlantic In her job as a “dream director,” Jessica Valoris is tasked with unleashing the potential of disadvantaged students at an inner-city high school in Washington, D.C. Her employer, a New York-based nonprofit called The Future Project, embeds mentors like Valoris in public schools, characterizing her role as a “midwife […]

Trips to the Museum can Spark Teen Ambition: An Opportunity for Mentors

Photo credit to Paramount Pictures Posted by Nicola Jones-Warwick Teens who took part in cultural activities like concerts or museums with their parents were more likely to aspire to continue their studies after the age of 16 than those who didn’t, a new study shows. The findings hold true even compared to activities such as homework clubs or […]

Promising findings from youth-led, trauma-informed intervention

Harden, T., Kenemore, T., Mann, K., Edwards, M., List, C. & Martinson, K.J. (2015). The Truth N’ Trauma Project: Addressing community violence through a youth-led, trauma-informed and restorative framework. Journal of Child and Adolescent Social Work, 32, 65-79. DOI: 10.1007/s10560-014-0366-0 Summarized by Justin Preston   Introduction Chicago has experienced one of the country’s highest violent […]

Brief Mentoring, Big Effects: Evaluation of a Short-Term, School-Based Mentoring Intervention

McQuillin, S., Strait, G., Bradley, S., & Ingram A. (2015). Brief instrumental school-based mentoring for first- and second- year middle school students: A randomized evaluation. Journal of Community Psychology, 43(7), 885-899. Summarized by Jessica Cunningham   Introduction School-based mentoring programs are one of the fastest growing types of mentoring programs across the United States, but […]

Big Mentoring News from Europe

By Jean Rhodes Last Thursday 3/17, the first European Mentoring Summit was held in the Netherlands. Officials from the European Union as well as researchers and mentoring practitioners from over 15 countries across Europe and the UK attended and shared ideas. It was truly amazing to learn about all the variations of innovative mentoring approaches that are […]

Mentoring For Youth With Backgrounds Of Involvement In Commercial Sex Activity

Group Review Board David DuBois, Ph.D., Chair and Jennifer K. Felner (University of Illinois at Chicago) National Mentoring Resource Center This review examines research on mentoring for youth with backgrounds of involvement (or high-risk for involvement) in commercial sex activity (YCSA). The review is organized around four questions: What is the documented effectiveness of mentoring […]

Mentoring: A Key Part of the Conversation at White House Summit

By: Noelle Hurd I am just returning from a day-long summit at the White House. The summit was sponsored by FLOTUS’s office and was titled Beating the Odds: Successful Strategies from Schools & Youth Agencies that Build Ladders of Opportunity. The summit was part of the First Lady’s Reach Higher Initiative(https://www.whitehouse.gov/reach-higher) which broadly focuses on […]

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 […]

Using Youth-Initiated Mentoring in Your Program? We Want to Hear From You!

Is your mentoring program implementing Youth-Initiated Mentoring (YIM) (where youth nominate an adult from their existing social networks to serve as their mentors)?  If so, then would you be interested in participating in a new research project to help better understand what makes YIM programs effective? The Center for Evidence-Based Mentoring is partnering with iRT, a […]