Kid Reach Mentor

Become a mentor!

A mentor is a caring guide, a role model, an example, a wise advisor, a partner on the journey, and a trusted friend.

Applications for mentors and mentees are available in pdf format [requires the free adobe acrobat reader]. For more information or questions concerning any of the Kid Reach program, please contact the Kid Reach office at (903) 597.4044, ext. 121. dana_taylor@pathhelps.org

Forms

• Kid Reach Brochure
• Kid Reach Mentee Application
• Kid Reach Mentor Application

SO WHAT IS A MENTOR?

A mentor is a caring guide, a role model, an example, a wise advisor, a partner on the journey, and a trusted friend. A mentor is one who can serve as a mirror for the child – showing them both who they are and who they can become. Moreover, this mirror can help the child see themselves from a positive and empathetic perspective, allowing them to see their own strengths and future possibilities. A mentor is one who can help the child feel comfortable in their own skin and appreciate their own special gifts, while at the same time, exposing them to new opportunities and modes of thinking. Finally, a mentor is ultimately one who can establish a strong connection with their mentee and can in turn use that connection as a catalyst for positive change and growth.

WHY YOUTH NEED MENTORS

The young people of today must cope with far more personal and social pressures than any other previous generation. Early intervention through a structured mentor relationship may be able to give young people the tools and support they need to deal effectively with these pressures.  Understanding the many social, psychological, and physical demands that the youth face is extremely important for any individual about to undertake the task of being a mentor.

Peer Pressure

One of the greatest forces on adolescents is the power and influence of their peers.

Substance Abuse

The curiosity to experiment with alcohol, tobacco, and drugs is a constant threat to each adolescent in today’s world.

Sexuality

Many young people turn to sexual relationships for a variety of reasons.

Child Abuse and Family Violence

Physical and psychological abuse, within the family or in any environment, will have both an immediate effect on the youth and create long-lasting, negative attitudes and behaviors.

School Safety and Violence

Many young people are exposed to bullies or other violent behaviors in the school setting which may result in attendance problems or lower academic achievement levels.

Depression and Suicide

Serious depression is common when young people are overwhelmed with issues and situations they cannot resolve.

Nutrition and Health Care

Many young people feel they are immortal and are either ignorant of or tend to ignore good health practices.

Faith and Religion

This issue is usually within the domain of the family. However, this may be an area of great concern for some young people.

Social and Time Management

How to manage leisure time, schoolwork, extracurricular activities, family chores, and other social demands is often very difficult for young people.

Career Exploration and Part-Time Work

Many young people struggle with the subjects of work and career. They often don’t know what they want to do or be, how they can contribute to society, what their strengths are, or what steps to take in exploring workplace opportunities. Making money is important to most kids, but knowing how to go about securing satisfying employment is something they usually learn through trial and error.

WHAT IS MENTORING?

• Mentoring is a relationship over a prolonged period of time between two people where the mentor provides constant, (as needed) support, guidance, and concrete help to the mentee as they travel through life.
• Mentoring helps fill the gap of adult relationships which is absent from many our children’s lives. It can expose them to new information – and this may help them make better decisions about their current or future lives.
• Mentoring is about believing in the unlimited potential of each and every child s. It maintains high expectations for the child while allowing them to reach those expectations in their own unique time frame.
• Mentoring is about time and patience.
• Mentoring is about empowering a child, not creating replicas of our own ideals of personalities.
• Mentoring, just like any other relationship, is not always easy. Relationships require commitment and hard work.  Sometimes these relationships can even bring up our own insecurities.

WHAT A MENTOR IS NOT?

• A mentor is not a parent- A mentor is not there to take over the role of a parent; no one can take over the role of a parent no matter how difficult a home life can be for the child. Not being a parent allows you to have a very different relationship with your mentee.
• A mentor is not all knowing- no one but the child knows what it is like to wake up every day in their home, go to their school, walk in their neighborhood, or handle the realities of their daily life.  A mentor who comes in with an “I know best” agenda runs the risk of losing the trust of his mentee or offering ineffective advice.
• A mentor is not a tutor- it is so tempting when you see your mentee failing in school to want to turn yourself into a super tutor. A mentor can be there to offer resources and to provide help, but only if and when the mentee wants it.
• A mentor is not a provider or an ATM. You will play an important role in the child’s life; however, your role is not as a source of financial support. (This issue will be discussed with the mentee’s parents as they are enrolling their child into the program.) By freeing your relationship from monetary dependency or money issues as a priority, it will allow it to grow without undue pressure or expectation. This doesn’t mean that you can’t occasionally pick up a little something special for the child; it does mean that you should not feel obliged or engage in interceding in the family’s financial situations. If asked, please let me know, as I may be able to help find other resources for support, but taking on the role of direct financial support can seriously jeopardize the relationship.
• A mentor is not a savior. It has been clearly shown that it is much more important to focus on the relationship than on goals of salvation, enrichment, or betterment. Goals come only after relationship – and you never know exactly what those goals might be. For one child, a positive relationship may inspire him to go to college, become a doctor, or find a productive career goal. For another, it may simply give him the comfort of knowing that there has been one source of support in his life – just that feeling can have a powerful impact.

“Some people demand to help, whether I want it or not.

I am more likely to accept help gracefully from someone

who doesn’t have to help. If you can just be with me

without helping, I will know you really care— you really

want to be with me. So, at first, visit me or let me visit

you. Do something that we both enjoy doing.” Don Shaw – youth worker