Mission/Vision

Vision Statement:

Youth thriving with support from a caring mentor who notices them and their potential.

Background:

The National Mentoring Partnership along with Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s National Youth Outcome Initiative report confirms the positive impact mentoring has on young people, especially at-risk youth, to help them succeed in school, work, and life. Young adults who were at-risk for falling off track but had a mentor are:

Location

Social Circle City Schools A.I.M.Y. (All In Mentoring Youth) Program will be hosted at all district schools. Mentor meetings typically are during the school day or after school hours and can include a variety of activities including tutoring, career exploration, life skill development, sports, games and/or attending cultural events or other forms of entertainment.

School operation hours will be provided during the Mentor training session.

Benefits Of Mentoring

Mentoring is often one component of a program that involves other elements, such as tutoring or life skills training and coaching. The supportive, healthy relationships formed between mentors and mentees are both immediate and long-term and contribute to a host of benefits for mentors and mentees.

Benefits for youth:

• Increased high school graduation rates

• Lower high school dropout rates

• Healthier relationships and lifestyle choices

• Better attitude about school

• Higher college enrollment rates and higher educational aspirations

• Enhanced self-esteem and self-confidence

• Improved behavior, both at home and at school

• Stronger relationships with parents, teachers, and peers

• Improved interpersonal skills

Benefits for mentors:

• A sense of accomplishment

• Creation of networks of volunteers

• Insight into childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood

• Increased patience and improved supervisory skills

Mentoring can help youth as they go through challenging life transitions, including dealing with stressful changes at home or transitioning to adulthood. Close, healthy, supportive relationships between mentors and mentees that last for a significant portion of time (i.e., more than one year) are central to success.

How Do I Become a Mentor?

A.I.M.Y. Mentors are screened, trained, and selectively matched with children. Compatibility, complementary personalities, and proximity are all considered. A.I.M.Y. Mentors are professionally supported throughout. The goal is for them to help youth gain esteem, confidence, and coping skills that will encourage healthy choices and inspire the realization of goals and dreams. Research shows that a key difference between a youth who makes it in the world as they age up and one who does not, is their connection to a stable, caring person.

Such a simple concept as spending quality time with a child has profound and lasting effects. Social Circle City Schools simply wants to provide more deserved children the chance to know this level of success. There are many opportunities available for the chance to open up a student’s world. The wave of need never subsides. Mentors are needed for both girls and boys.

If you have an interest in stepping in and stepping up to mentor a child, complete the mentor application.

If you have questions, contact Juanasha Watkins by email at: juanasha.watkins@socialcircleschools.org