Mentoring...
Mentor Program
The Post Residential Phase of the Youth ChalleNGe program, involves a 14-month mentoring program. Graduates return to their communities to apply the skills learned at ChalleNGe with the assistance of local volunteer mentors. Mentors assist the graduates in seeking further education, looking for employment or joining the military. Mentors also act as role models and participate in monthly activities with the graduates to encourage them in pursuing their goals.
Mentor Eligibility
Do you want to help the future of ONE Arkansas youth? Are you willing to devote 14 months to assisting ONE youth in finding a positive future? Are you ready to make a difference in the lives of at-risk youth?
If you answered YES, then you are ready to take the ChalleNGe!
To be a mentor, you must be:
- 21 years of age or older
- Not of same household, immediate family member (mother, father, stepmother, stepfather, brother, sister, stepbrother, stepsister, foster parent, legal guardian), or ChalleNGe staff or spouses.
- Living within reasonable geographic proximity of the cadet
- Same gender as the cadet
- Commit to at 14-month mentorship with the cadet
We will never say that mentoring is easy, only that it is worth it. Mentoring is the lifeblood of Arkansas Youth ChalleNGe. It doesn't matter if you have skills, all you need is a desire to help map out a positive future for ONE "at-risk youth" in Arkansas.
Post Residential Office Mission
The Post Residential Office (PRO) directs and assists the Arkansas National Guard Youth ChalleNGe mentoring program. The mission of the PRO is to match each cadet with a screened and trained mentor by the 13th week of the residential phase and to assist the mentee and mentor in fostering a relationship that will last a lifetime by assisting each graduate in the continuation of education, military or employment opportunities leading to being a productive citizen in his or her community.
Post-Residential Goals
In order to provide the best in service to our mentors and graduates, the PRO sets yearly goals.
These are the goals for 2008:
- 100% Mentor Applications with Cadet Applications
- 100% Mentor Screening completed by week 7
- 100% Mentees trained by week 12
- 100% Mentors screened, trained and matched by week 13
Yearly
- Increase the use of "Networking" through the mentoring relationship
- To insure that graduates are fulfilling their responsibility in becoming productive citizens within the community.