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"Real generosity toward the future
lies in giving all to the present"

Mentoring

What is a mentor?

A mentor:

is a supportive adult who serves as a role model and friend to a young person.
listens and offers guidance and encouragement.
shares time and experiences with a young person.
is someone who enjoys a basketball game, visits colleges, or just shares a meal.
is not expected to take the place of a parent or to act as a social worker.

Why is mentoring important to the success of SAS?

Mentors can make a dramatic difference in the achievements of our students, providing many crucial elements -- guidance, experience, and a shoulder to lean on – which are often the supports many young people lack. SAS mentors provide information to their students on how to be successful in high school, college and in the workplace. Mentors are our students' biggest fans!

Who can be an SAS mentor?

Individuals qualified to be SAS mentors need to have attained a college level degree, be willing to share time to develop a trusting relationship, and participate in activities with their student. They need communication skills, compassion, patience and a commitment to the mission of the program.

SAS mentors come from every walk of life. They are city and suburban residents, they are racially and professionally diverse, and they are all ages. They share a commitment to education and a desire to give back to the community through helping young people succeed.

Mentors enter and participate in our program in a variety of ways:

As individuals and couples

As organizations who wish to mentor one or more students as a group
As employees or members of organizations that sponsor SAS students
As an SAS sponsor who also chooses to mentor

To ensure the safety of our students, all mentors must participate in a state-certified child abuse clearance and criminal record check. We will give you the necessary forms to complete and will take care of submitting them and paying for the clearance process.

How are students and mentors matched?

An interview is conducted to determine a mentor's motivation, commitment and interests. Cross-factoring this information with that from the student, we pair students and mentors according to gender, shared interests, experiences, and personalities. We also take into account a mentor's preference, if any, for pairing with a student from a particular school or geographic location.

How much time is involved?

Mentoring is a serious time commitment, but you have great flexibility in order to accommodate your schedule. SAS students and their mentors are expected to meet at least once a month and stay in touch more frequently through phone calls, emails, etc. Many go on outings to movies, museums, dinner, or just hang out over a soda. They attend SAS program activities, school events, and often visit colleges and universities together.

Students and mentors should expect to be together for four years, from the student's tenth grade year through at least the first year of college. While this might seem like a long time, the mentoring process is critical during these formative years. There may also be opportunities for shorter commitments.

Mentor Responsibilities:

Meet with your student at least once a month and stay in touch more frequently via phone or email.
Encourage your student to take responsibility for his/her decisions. Help students to learn about problem-solving and decision-making skills.
Stay in monthly contact with SAS staff. Raise concerns and issues before they become major problems.
Be an advocate for your student at school and in the community.
Be available to your student with a listening ear when needed. Be nonjudgmental.
Read SAS information to stay up to date on program events.

What if it doesn’t work out?

Be as honest as possible with yourself when committing to be a mentor. It will do more harm than good to enter a young person's life, build up trust, and then abandon the relationship. We do recognize that unavoidable conflicts can sometimes arise, such as a job transfer to another area that could mean the disruption of a mentoring relationship.

If there are difficulties in the relationship, our staff will work with the student and mentor to help resolve them. If the issues persist, we will assign another mentor to the student and reassign the mentor, if he or she is willing.

Am I on my own?

To help make the mentoring experience rewarding and as satisfying as possible, Sponsor-A-Scholar provides continuous support for mentors, including:

A general orientation as they enter the program, a mentor handbook, ongoing peer support from other SAS mentors, staff members, and trainings.
Information to share with students about cultural opportunities, academic support programs, summer jobs, college admissions, financial aid and SAS events.
Quarterly newsletters and SAS updates.
Ongoing staff assistance to foster a successful mentor/student relationship.

Our aim is to help you do the best for your scholar.

How do I get started?

We are delighted that you want to mentor an SAS student! It's easy to get started. Go to the following link www.crsas.org/pages/getInvolved/volunteer.asp for an application. Please send the completed application and clearance forms back to Sponsor-A-Scholar. We will contact you to schedule an interview and a time for the New Mentoring Training orientation.

Facts & Figures on Mentoring:

In a 1996 study from the Center for Intergenerational Learning, Temple University, young people who participated in Across Ages, an intergenerational mentoring project for high-risk middle school students in Philadelphia, exhibited:

Less disruptive classroom behavior
Better school attendance
Improved relationships with adults and peers
Positive changes in their knowledge, attitudes and behaviors concerning substance use and related life skills

A 1988 Proctor & Gamble study on their mentoring programs in Cincinnati Schools, showed that 133 young people with mentors were more likely to:

Stay in School

Not one student with a mentor dropped out of school - additionally, average daily attendance was higher among mentored students

Achieve & Aspire to Better Grades

Grade point average was almost half a unit higher for young people with mentors

Go on to College

86% of seniors went onto college once mentoring programs were instituted
25 - 30% of students went onto college prior to mentoring program

A 1995 Public / Private Ventures study of Big Brothers / Big Sisters one-to-one mentoring found that Little Brothers and Sisters who met with their "Bigs" regularly for about a year were:

Saying No to Drugs & Alcohol

46% less likely than their peers to start using illegal drugs and 27% less likely to start drinking

Attending Class

52% less likely than their peers to skip a day of school and 37% less likely to skip a class

Connecting to Adults and Peers

More trusting of their parents or guardians, less likely to lie to them, and felt more supported and less criticized by their peers and friends

In a 1989 Louis Harris poll of 400 high school juniors and seniors who participated in a national mentoring program, Career Beginnings, the vast majority of students credited their mentors with helping improve their lives.

Percentage of students who said their mentors helped them raise their goals and expectations:

73% yes
27% no effect

87% of students went directly to college or planned to attend college within one year of graduating from high school
59% of mentored students improved their grades
87% of mentoring students said they benefited in some way from their mentoring relationship

A 1994 Linking Lifetimes study from the Center for Intergenerational Learning at Temple University revealed that young people who had older mentors (average age 65) showed improvement in:

School-related behavior
Self-confidence
Personal skills

A survey of the Ford Foundation's Quantum Opportunities Program (1989-1991) showed that mentored high school students from families receiving public assistance were more likely than students without mentors to: