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Volunteer Business Mentor
Volunteer Business Mentor
If you have business expertise, have at least 1 hour per week available to volunteer your time and are at the stage in your life where you want to give back - then a volunteer business mentor or an associate volunteer business mentor with this program may be just the thing for you.
The role is incredibly rewarding as you help young and eager students, with the support of their educator(s) learn business through the creation of a product, service or awareness within a social enterprise.
The program engages students in building a social enterprise.... they research social issues, identify a social cause, select charities, build products or create services that they can deliver and learn the basics of business through doing. Sales, marketing, organization, product development, service delivery, seed funding...
They may learn how to build and administer a Shopify website, write blogs, tweet their progress, run customer focus groups, raise and track money, deliver an elevator pitch, collaborate, communicate & organize, create video games, edit videos or program 3D printers.
There is something for every student and you'll find their engagement is infectious.
The school board uses the google suite of applications so you'll likely learn these tools if you are not familiar with them already. In addition you may learn how to use Shopify and other tools such as 3D printing, develop basic coding using Scratch or video editing using ScreenCastify - perhaps you will find the learning personally valuable - but the real reward will be working with kids and seeing them turned onto entrepreneurship.
That’s empowering!
The time commitment is a flexible 1 hr per week and as we move into a changing world - a lot (perhaps all!) of that engagement will be delivered by video conferencing.
If you have the interest in becoming a business mentor - know that you will be supported with a rich framework of content, enthusiastic educators and a network of other business mentors.
As a mentor - it’s really true - you will get back much more than you give!
Register to Sign-up!
Register to Sign-up!
If this program is of interest to you - and you'd like to be considered as a Volunteer Business Mentor OR if you want to be considered as an Associate Volunteer Business Mentor then please complete the following form. Once complete - someone from the school board will then be in touch and try to align your interests and experience with a teacher from one of the participating schools.
If you have more questions don't hesitate to contact Richard White at white.richardwayne@gmail.com
Role of a Volunteer Business Mentor:
Expert: Share skills, knowledge, and expertise;
Role Model: Have a positive attitude and act as a positive role model;
Sherpa: Offer guidance and constructive feedback;
Helper: Help students solve their own problem, rather than give direction;
Advisor/Coach: provide advice, guidance, and feedback; share your experience and expertise as appropriate; act as a sounding board for ideas and action plans;
Champion/Cheerleader: offer encouragement and support to try new things; help students move out their comfort zones; celebrate successes; help students understand when things do not go as planned;
Connector: identify contacts & resources that can assist;
Truth-sayer: provide feedback that students need to hear in order to move forward; push students to take risks when appropriate; help students consider and weigh potential consequences of decisions and actions to avoid the pitfalls and predictable surprises that may occur.
Tips in your Partnership with the Educator:
Maintain effective & regular communication with each other throughout the year
Establish a schedule of planned meetings with students and agree on an agenda for each meeting in advance
Openly discuss roles and delegation of responsibilities
Questions & Answers:
Q: What are the objectives of the program?
A: The Big Reset: Social Entrepreneurs Program is an opportunity for students in 4-6 rural communities to participate in a Social Entrepreneurial project that will allow them to build entrepreneurial and social justice skills that will benefit themselves as learners and leaders, their schools, their communities and their world. Through this Social Entrepreneurs - Deep Learning Project students will be inspired to believe in themselves, their schools, their communities and that no matter where they reside in this world we can all dream it to achieve it. Through this passion students will have the opportunity to engage with the 6 C’s and demonstrate growth and learning in these essential 21st century global competencies.
Q: Who are you mentoring?
A: Students within a class. Classes could range from grades 7-12
Q: What is your relationship/role with the educator?
A: It is a partnership with the educator, where you bring your expertise of business and the educator brings their expertise as an educator.
Q: What is the time commitment?
A: While the educator will likely work with students throughout the week, you should anticipate about one hour per week where you are involved working with the students as a mentor.
Q: When am I expected to participate?
A: The program is delivered during school hours.
Q: Is it flexible?
A: Generally, the educator has some flexibility to schedule your involvement with the students, but it will be constrained to the times that the educator is scheduled to meet with their students. Discuss with your assigned educator dates and times that work for you both and agree to a schedule.
Q: Is my participation expected to be in-class or virtual?
A: It can be any combination of virtual or in-class. Discuss with your assigned educator what works best. Many of the classes are expected to be in rural communities where virtual may be the only method for most mentors to participate.
Q: What is Deep Learning?
A: Deep learning is the process of acquiring the six global competencies.
Q: What are the six global competencies (The 6 C’s)::
A: Citizenship, Character, Communication, Critical thinking, Collaboration, Creativity
Q: What skills/background are you seeking for the Volunteer Business Mentor role?
A: We are looking for volunteers with a background in business and entrepreneurship.
Q: Is there a role for college or university students?
A: Absolutely, we are also seeking out Associate Volunteer Business Mentors who will assist in breakout groups.
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