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TOPICS
1. Opportunity for Creating and Strengthening Mentoring Programs
2. Funding for Mentoring Youth with Disabilities
3. Contract Available to Evaluate Community Mentoring Strategy
4. A New Study from Mentoring Research
OPPORTUNITY FOR CREATING AND STRENGTHENING MENTORING PROGRAMS
Peer Resources will be conducting a two-day seminar on building successful and effective corporate, business and community mentoring programs in Victoria, British Columbia, July 21-22, 2003. Participants in the seminar will be able to understand the differences and similarities between mentoring and coaching, counselling, managing, and supervising; recognize the characteristics of effective mentors; specify the components of a successful mentor program; identify and reduce barriers while increasing supports for mentoring; identify an effective mentoring approach for the back-home setting that reflects their cultural context, including specific strategies for recruiting, selecting, matching, training and coordinating; and locate the resources to support a back-home mentoring plan.
The seminar is based on principles of adult learning and uses experiential skill-building exercises and activities; builds on participant experience and ideas; provides focused input from the workshop leader; encourages sharing learning experience; provides a library of relevant resources; and provides a notebook and take-away trainer materials for each participant. Participants who complete the workshop will receive a Certificate of Completion and be eligible for Continuing Education Unit (CEU) credit. The fee for the workshop is $543.50(Cdn) or $420.50(US). Additional information and online registration are available at http://www.mentors.ca/trng.html. Or call 1.800.567.3700.
FUNDING FOR MENTORING YOUTH WITH DISABILITIES
The U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Disability Employment Policy in collaboration with its Center for Faith- Based and Community Initiatives has announced the availability of approximately $450,000 to award three competitive grants funded up to $150,000 to eligible intermediary organizations that have demonstrated an ability to assist faith-based and community organizations, particularly smaller organizations, in promoting positive employment and transition outcomes for youth with disabilities through mentoring activities.
The activities conducted must be consistent with effective practices and may include but are not limited to adult and peer mentoring, e-mentoring, tutoring, job-shadowing, service learning, leadership development, and youth development. In achieving the grant purposes, the intermediary is expected to sub-award a substantial portion of its award to eligible local faith- based and community organizations. Grant funds may be used for activities that establish, implement, or support a mentoring program for youth with disabilities between the ages of 16 and 24, which may include:
- Hiring of mentoring coordinators and support staff;
- Recruitment, screening, and training of mentors;
- Recruitment and assessment of partners;
- Reimbursement to schools, if appropriate, for the use of school materials or supplies to be used in carrying out the mentoring program;
- Purchase of materials or supplies to be used in carrying out the mentoring program;
- Dissemination of outreach materials; and
- Evaluation of the mentoring program using scientifically-based methods.
These grants are for a one-year period at full funding and may be renewed for a period of up to four additional years depending upon the availability of funds and the efficacy of the project activities. For details and application go to: http://www2.dol.gov/odep/regs/faith.htm.
CONTRACT AVAILABLE TO EVALUATE COMMUNITY MENTORING STRATEGY
The Kelowna, British Columbia-based Not-For-Profit Sector Mentorship Program (NFPSMP) is seeking a research consultant to conduct an evaluation of its Mentorship Pilot Project. The assessment will assist the NFPSMP in evaluating its progress, measuring community outcomes and providing a review of the program’s sustainability.
The successful applicant will: 1. undertake an update of the current supports and services; 2. identify and list the supports and services that are still required (gaps) to meet the needs of the not-for-profits in Kelowna; and 3. facilitate the identification by the Management Committee of the priority areas required to meet the needs of the not-for-profits in Kelowna.
Deliverables include:
1. A draft program assessment to the Management Committee by October 15, 2003 and a final assessment by November 28, 2003;
2. A presentation in person to the Management Committee of research findings; and
3. An electronic version (Microsoft WORD 6.0) of the deliverables as well as 30 hard copies of each report.
A maximum of $8,000.00 is available for this project. For details regarding applicant qualifications, proposal submission guidelines, and a list of criteria that will be used to assess proposals, contact Darvie Roberts, Executive Director, #202-1626 Richter Street, Kelowna, British Columbia V1Y 2M3; email: droberts@arcok.com; Tel: (250) 860-1896. Closing date for submissions is June 27, 2003.
WHAT'S NEW FROM MENTORING LITERATURE
Peer Resources continually scans the professional and popular published literature to find articles of interest to people involved in mentoring. Two of several hundred recent additions to the searchable, annotated bibliography at <http://www.mentors.ca/SearchB.html> are:
Feiman-Nemser, S. (May, 2003). What new teachers need to learn. Educational Leadership, 60, 8, 25-29.
