General Information

What is mentoring?

According to the National Mentoring Partnership, mentoring is the presence of caring individuals who, along with parents and guardians, provide young people with support, advice, friendship, reinforcement and constructive examples.

Mentoring is also a partnership between the mentor and mentee for the positive development of the mentee. The mentee is not reduced to a recipient role. The mentee is an active participant and decision maker in his or her development. This allows an emotional transaction between them to occur with bonds of mutual trust and respect at the core of each relationship.

What is a mentor?

• A Friend
  A mentor has time to listen and give thoughtful, caring advice and assistance. He or she is someone who notices the little things and uses simple phrases like "I'm proud of you," to help build self-esteem of young people. A friend realizes that time is needed to build a relationship; especially if the youth's past relationships have not been stable ones.
• A Role Model
  A mentor is someone who has had successful life experiences and who is willing to share them. Modeling can come at many levels. Some can be as basic and tangible as making a craft, playing a sport or washing the car. Others can be less tangible, but just as important. These might include controlling anger, using good manners, or directing one's energy in a positive direction.
• A Link to the Community
  A mentor should be knowledgeable about the community and be willing to research any information that is unknown to him or her. He or she will teach the young person how to access local resources.

Mentor is humanized in Homer's epic tale, "The Odyssey." Mentor was a trusted and honored advisor and friend of Odysseus. Mentor was entrusted with the development of Telemachus, Odysseus' son. Without the assistance and advice of Mentor, "The Odyssey" probably wouldn't have had a positive ending. Odysseus would not have reclaimed his throne and his son would not have had the opportunity to develop into the next king.

Why do youth need mentors?

Youth need caring, nurturing, open and encouraging people in their lives. It is paramount to their psychological development that youth, especially at-risk and underserved children, have someone in their life to provide positive support to help them realize their potential.

Many youth have a desperate need for enduring contact with positive adult role models. Youth need to be guided, supported, prized and nurtured. Mutual trust, respect and awareness of being valued are key components for an emotional bond to occur between the mentee and mentor.

How does mentoring affect youth?

The intimate connection that can form between the mentor and the mentee helps reinforce positive perceptions of self-esteem and self-worth in youth. Mentoring is a tool for positive youth development. It can help improve grades, develop communication skills, enhance leadership abilities and encourage civic values and participation.

Research indicates:

• Students who met regularly with their mentors are 52% less likely than their peers to skip a day of school and 37% less likely to skip a class (Tierney & Grossman, 2000).
• Youth who met regularly with their mentors are 46% less likely than their peers to start using illegal drugs and 27% less likely to start drinking (Tierney & Grossman, 2000).
• Faith-based mentoring has reduced recidivism rates to 5 to 12% (Prison Fellowship International, 2007).

Types of mentoring

There are many types of mentoring. Sometimes the different types overlap. It is important to understand the type of mentoring you are interested in or will be doing so that you can better understand what to expect.

• Informal Mentoring
  It is a natural or unstructured connection between a caring adult and a young person that validates the youth and creates a safe, supportive and positive relationship outside of an organized, mentor-focused program (for example, family or extended family members, neighbors, coaches, teachers, adults at church and others).
• Formal Mentoring
  It is a connection that validates youth through a safe, supportive and positive relationship through a mentoring-focused program (school programs, youth organizations, community agency programs and other programs).
• Individual Mentoring
  This is the forming of a one-to-one relationship between a youth and an adult. The young person is the focus of this relationship.
• Group Mentoring
  This occurs when small groups of youth develop a relationship with an adult (such as a coach, teacher or others).
• Community-Based Mentoring
  This occurs when mentoring activities take place within the community. Examples of this usually include sports, crafts, museums and other hobbies.
• School-Based Mentoring
  This occurs at school and most often is focused on academics. The mentor and mentee meet regularly to work on school assignments and form a relationship.
• Occupational Mentoring
  This occurs when a person shares his or her knowledge and experience in a particular career with someone interested in the same field.
• Peer Mentoring
  This occurs when one young person mentors another slighly younger person.

What is the 4-H Mentoring Initiative?

4-H believes all youth need positive, caring, nurturing adults to reach their optimum potential in Head, Hands, Heart and Health. The 4-H Mentoring Initiative is a planned mentoring program for youth aged 5 to 19 that spotlights one-on-one, peer and small-group mentoring models.

Mentoring programs are not new to Michigan 4-H and MSU Extension. 4-H has a long history of establishing and supporting ongoing, positive and nurturing relationships between youth and adults. The 4-H Mentoring Initiative utilizes Michigan 4-H Youth Development's expertise, infrastructure and resources as part of a larger community-based effort.

4-H mentoring programs do not exist to compete with nor take away mentors, mentees or resources from other mentoring or youth development programs. 4-H mentoring programs strengthen mentoring efforts for families, neighborhoods, communities and cities throughout Michigan by extending the resources of Michigan State University Extension to address this important need.

What is the 4-H Mentor Michigan Initiative?

The 4-H Mentor Michigan Initiative is funded by an AmeriCorps grant from the Corporation for National and Community Service through the Michigan Community Service Commission. This three-year initiative will support the expansion of existing programs and training for staff and collaborators interested in establishing mentoring programs in local communities.

What is the Michigan 4-H Learn and Serve Teen Mentors Program?

In 2006 Michigan 4-H Youth Development began a partnership with the Michigan Community Service Commission and Learn and Serve America called the Michigan 4-H Learn and Serve Teen Mentors Program. This three-year program aims to provide high-quality service learning opportunities for 700 teens in Michigan by matching them in mentoring relationships with younger youth.

References

Prison Fellowship International. (2007). Communities of Restoration (APAC). Washington, DC. Author. Available at www.pfi.org/programmes/apac.

Tierney, J.P., & Grossman, J.B. (with Resch, N.). (2000). Making a Difference: An Impact Study of Big Brothers/Big Sisters. Philadelphia: Public/Private Ventures.

4-H Mentor Michigan Initiative 09-10 Request for Application (Word) – Michigan State University Extension, 4-H Youth Development has received grant funding from the Corporation for National and Community Service through the Michigan Community Service Commission to support the development, operation, and expansion of planned youth mentoring programs across the state of Michigan. This grant provides for 80 full-time AmeriCorps members to be placed in MSU Extension sites and community-based organizations statewide to provide full-time service in the area of planned youth mentoring during the 2009-2010 program year. It is now time to start recruiting organizations to participate in this opportunity. Please complete the Request for Applications by June 26, 2009, if you are interested in applying.

Contact

Lisa Bottomley, Mentoring Specialist
4-H Youth Development
Michigan State University
160 Agriculture Hall
East Lansing, MI 48824-1039
USA
Phone: 517-432-7622
Fax: 517-353-4846
E-mail: lbottoml@msu.edu

Julie Chapin, Ph.D., Program Leader
4-H Youth Development
Michigan State University
160 Agriculture Hall
East Lansing, MI 48824-1039
USA
Phone: 517-432-7608
Fax: 517-353-4846
E-mail: chapin@msu.edu

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Last Updated: May 29, 2009
Last Reviewed: July 30, 2007