MENTORING SETTINGS
Mentor Relationship
Mentors and young people may find that their relationship begins by participating in a variety of activities. Depending on the type of mentoring program — and the program's rules and regulations — a mentoring pair may go to the park or a museum, participate in sports or some other activity where they can get to know each other better. Mentors and mentees might also meet at the child's school once a week where they might talk, play games or do schoolwork together. Take a look at some of the different settings where mentoring may occur.
Each mentoring program is different. So are the locations and settings within which a mentoring relationship can develop.
In Schools
- Offers young people the chance to develop a relationship with one or more adults
- Takes place at school, either during or after school hours
- Can include tutoring, playing games and sports
- A commitment of at least one school year
In The Community
- Community-based mentoring offers young people the chance to develop a relationship with one or more adults
- Takes place outside of specific sites such as: going to the movies or going to a park.
- Can include tutoring, career exploration, life skills development, playing games, going to sports, entertainment, or cultural events
- A commitment of at least one year
In Faith-Based Communities
- Faith-based mentoring has a long tradition of instilling spiritual values and moral strength, key elements in mentoring
- Offers young people the chance to develop a relationship with one or more adults
- Takes place in a house of worship and reflects the values and beliefs of that religion Typically occurs after school hours and/or on weekends
- Can include career exploration, life skills development, playing games, going to sports, entertainment, or cultural events
- Can serve young people from the congregation or from throughout the local community
In Businesses
- Today more and more companies are starting mentoring programs to help the young people who live in the communities where the companies do business
- Offers young people the chance to develop a relationship with one or more adults
- Can include tutoring, job shadowing, career exploration and role playing
- A commitment of at least one year
Information in this section was provided courtesy of MENTOR/National Mentoring Partnership
