Mentors guide, challenge, and celebrate their students through their three years in the program. As a Mentor, you’ll act as a caring adult in your Student’s life, providing emotional and consistent support while sharing insight from your journey to college and beyond.
HOW IT WORKS
Each student is paired with two Mentors. Every week, Mentors and Students will work through exercises in the Minds Matter curriculum to help Students develop the hard and soft skills they need to succeed in college. Mentors commit to following their students throughout their three years in the program. Working together, both Mentors form the backbone of a Student’s experience in Minds Matter.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
The mentor role is rooted in deep relationship building. To effectively guide, challenge, and celebrate their mentee, mentors exhibit and develop a few key characteristics:
- Your relationship is built over time, in and out of session, but the majority of your interactions happen during Saturday sessions. Showing up and being present at the sessions is the baseline for your effectiveness as a mentor. Mentors are required to attend at least 80% of Saturday sessions during the school year.
- Acting as a role model and caring adult for your Student requires active listening, empathy, commitment, and integrity. Mentors must follow through on the commitments they make to their mentees. Unfulfilled promises negatively impact relationships, especially those with young people. Mentors act as role models to their own students and all the students on their team.
- While there are no required meetings outside of Saturday sessions, Mentors should be responsive to short texts/emails from their students during the week and actively check in from time to time.
- All volunteers act as representatives of Minds Matter NYC in and out of session and are asked to uphold the organization’s values and core beliefs.
ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS
- Mentors must have a 4-year college degree.
- Mentors must pass a criminal background check and undergo child protection training.
- Mentors work with Co-Mentors and their Students to complete their assignments on time.
- You and your Co-Mentor will be asked to provide brunch and/or lunch for Students on your team every 8 weeks, approximately 3 times a year. We recommend spending no more than $10 per student, which totals approximately $250 to be split with your co-Mentor
TIME COMMITMENT
Mentors commit to volunteering with Minds Matter NYC for 2-3 hours per week on Saturdays from approximately 11:00 am – 12:30 pm. Mentors should be prepared to commit to three years as volunteers as they follow their students through the program.