impact giving
How Mentoring Can Change Lives
TeamMates Jan 18, 2018
This article is deemed a must-read by one or more of our expert collaborators.
January is National Mentoring Month.
Christy Wright's journey with her TeamMates mentee started 4 years ago. Little did she know at the time, that relationship would change her life.
The pair were matched in Sioux City, IA when Christy's mentee was in 3rd grade.
"She was this sweet little girl when I first walked into the office," Christy explained. "They couldn't have matched me any better."
Founded in 1991, TeamMates Mentoring Program bonds adults and youth together in a school-based setting. Matches meet once a week at school during the academic year to do a craft, play board games, or just talk.
Through the years, they bonded over similar interests. Christy attended the same school growing up, they enjoy the same activities, and they even have the same favorite color.
"There are a lot of little things that tie us together— she's almost a little mini me," Christy laughed.
It wasn't until about two years ago, Christy found they had more in common than she originally thought. Christy's father was diagnosed with cancer, a battle her mentee's father has been fighting for the past 10 years.
"I kept thinking, 'How am I going to do this?'" she explained. "[My mentee] is making life go on, and if she can do it, so can I."
Christy said she didn't share her struggle with her mentee, but she felt her mentee's strength as her father continued to fight for his life.
"She's better for me than I am for her," Christy said. "She's bubbly and bouncy— you wouldn't believe she's going through what she is."
Christy's father is now doing well, but she continues to support her mentee through her father's fight. Christy said her goal is for her mentee to stay positive through this tough time.
"This world can be a struggle, but if she can be the person she is now, it's worth every minute," Christy said.
Mentees can be nominated through a parent, school staff person, or through self-nomination. They're matched with their mentors through similar interests and life events.
More than 90 percent of mentees say they trust their mentors and many report higher levels of hope, engagement in school and well-being.
Christy said that one hour with her mentee a week has made a huge impact on her life.
"It's so life-changing," she said. "I would recommend it for anybody!"
If you're inspired by Christy's experience as a mentor, here are ways you can get involved.
Residents of Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, and Wyoming can apply to become a mentor at TeamMates. If you're located in another state, search Giving Compass for volunteer opportunities related to youth and mentoring.
Mentoring organizations often rely on donor funds to help run their programs. These dollars can help train mentors and support mentor-mentee relationships.
Access research to learn more about the benefits of mentoring.
Original contribution by Hannah Miller, TeamMates Communications and Recruitment Specialist.
If you are looking for more articles and resources for K-12 Education, take a look at these Giving Compass selections related to impact giving and K-12 Education.
Higher K-12 Standards Haven't Led to Higher Test Scores
Giving Compass' Take: • Dan Hamlin explains how his research indicates that higher proficiency standards imposed by states have not improved students' NEAP test scores. • What needs to change to improve test scores? What districts have successfully improved scores? • Learn about the problem with reacting to NEAP scores. Your study compares state proficiency levels to those of the National Assessment of Educational Progress? Yes. The first part of the report looks at the bar for proficiency across states. It's not examining how well students are performing in a given state, but how high states set their bar for proficiency. Why? Because when No Child Left Behind was initiated and states were required to start testing students, states could set their own proficiency bars. Part of your report is about how states turned against Common Core, yet in reality, many states kept it intact but gave it a different name. At least, the preliminary results from some of these analyses suggest that many of the changes have just been cosmetic. States don't appear to have made really sweeping changes. I would underscore the word "preliminary" there. At least in the short-term, most of these changes appear to be just cosmetic. Although states have raised their standards, you say that hasn't translated into higher levels of student test performance. The first part of our analysis finds that states have dramatically increased their proficiency bars. That's a really interesting thing. They have raised the bar to very close to what NAEP is—and they had been quite far apart if you go back to 2009. But, if you look at test score growth on the NAEP, there's no relationship between test score growth and a state's improvements in how close it comes to NAEP or how well it has strengthened its proficiency bar. Now, we didn't control for a host of other factors that might also be affecting that relationship, but at least, based on this simple relationship, there's zero evidence for it. Read the full interview with Dan Hamlin about higher K-12 standards by Tim Goral at District Administration.
Looking for a way to get involved?
If you are interested in K-12 Education, please see these relevant events, training, conferences or volunteering opportunities the Giving Compass team recommends.
Are you ready to give?
If you are ready to take action and invest in causes for K-12 Education, check out these Giving Funds, Charitable Organizations and Projects related to K-12 Education.
Turn to Students to Facilitate Coding Education
Unequal Access to Technology Prevents Educational Equity
Bolstering Black Male Achievement Programs to Lower Dropout Rates
Become a newsletter subscriber to stay up-to-date on the latest Giving Compass news.
ABOUT GIVING COMPASS
Giving Compass is a nonprofit organization aggregating quality philanthropic content and resources to make it easier to give with impact.Learn more
CONTENT AT GIVING COMPASS
FOLLOW GIVING COMPASS
Trending Issues
2020 © Giving Compass, LLC.
Your personal information is confidential at Giving Compass. For more information, please visit our privacy policy. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use.