STEP ONE:
INVESTIGATE THE NEED FOR A NEW PROGRAM IN YOUR COMMUNITY
Before undertaking all of the steps required to build a quality mentoring program from scratch, we encourage you to investigate the prevalence of mentoring already happening in your community. There’s a good chance that there is already an organization or service provider offering the type of programming you are considering. You might also find key allies to partner with that are serving the population of youth who you want to mentor or that are addressing the same needs you are targeting. The Mentoring Connector tool can help you identify what services are already being offered, and by whom, in your community. If you determine that there is a need for new mentoring services in the community, the remaining steps below can help you build a strong program.
STEP THREE:
REVIEW MENTOR’S ELEMENTS OF EFFECTIVE PRACTICE FOR MENTORING™
The Elements of Effective Practice for Mentoring™ Fourth Edition (Elements), provides quality- and evidence-based standards that include the latest research and practice wisdom to help mentoring programs ensure safety, effectiveness and sustainability. Structuring your mentoring program to adhere to the Elements will greatly increase your ability to ensure that the young people served by your program experience positive outcomes as a result of being mentored. Click here to access the Elements online, as well as the companion Checklist, Toolkit, and introductory webinar to help you apply its standards and benchmarks to your program.
STEP FOUR:
REVIEW THE “STARTING A YOUTH MENTORING PROGRAM” E-LEARNING MODULES
This E-Learning experience was developed to provide you with the knowledge and tools to build a solid foundation for a quality mentoring program. Each module reviews key best practices for designing, launching, operating, and sustaining a quality youth mentoring program based on the Elements of Effective Practice for Mentoring™ Fourth Edition. In addition to other resources available to you through the OJJDP National Mentoring Resource Center, these modules will support you in learning the skills and infrastructure necessary to support positive youth outcomes through mentoring.
STEP FIVE:
REGISTER YOUR PROGRAM IN MENTOR’S MENTORING CONNECTOR
After your program is established, register it in the Mentoring Connector to help you recruit more mentors and increase visibility for your organization. Thousands of prospective mentors visit our site each month to find mentoring opportunities in their community. Further, MENTOR works with many partners to promote mentoring opportunities in their volunteer databases, and registering your program with MENTOR will ensure that your mentoring opportunities are available to those who want to get involved as a result of various promotions and campaigns.