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Dominion-Virginia Credit Union Training Group
As of September, VMP has trained
600 volunteer mentors, and we look forward to continuing to prepare volunteers for their mentor role.
If you are getting ready to become a mentor, please consider attending a New Mentor Training.
Visit our website to check out our next training sessions and register.
After participating in an interactive VMP training session, mentors leave with a strong understanding of their mentor role, mentoring do's and don't's, how to handle difficult situations, communication strategies, setting healthy boundaries and using strategies for positive youth development.
If you are a mentor program leader and would like VMP to provide an on-site training please complete a
training request form.
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Prepare Now for National Mentoring Month
As January quickly approaches, make sure your program is prepared for National Mentoring Month! NMM is an annual concentrated burst of public awareness activity to draw attention to the benefits of mentoring and recruit more individuals from the community to serve as mentors.
To help programs amplify their recruitment efforts during the month, MENTOR provides digital campaign materials, toolkits, and other resources. Don't miss a live webinar about National Mentoring Month on
Nov 17th, 1-2:15.
Presenters will speak on effective National Mentoring Month calls-to-action, partnership building, and online engagement. Whether you represent a small, mid-size or large mentoring program, there will be plenty of useful information shared. Register now!
This webinar is the latest of the Collaborate Mentoring Webinar series.
Check out archived webinar topics - career-based mentoring, effective matching, mentoring in rural communities, and much more - that may be of interest to your program
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Link to Learning
"We must continue to connect our students with caring adults who are willing to make an investment of themselves in a child's future."
Thank you for making a commitment this year to becoming a mentor or continuing to mentor a child. Check out this article by Jill Roche of Youth Today as a reminder of the impact a caring, trusted adult can make on a child's life.
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Virginia Mentoring Partnership
2500 W. Broad St, Third Floor
Richmond, VA 23220
804-828-1536
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National Mentoring Resource Center Continues for 2017
VMP is excited to announce that the MENTOR network has received the National Mentoring Resource Center grant for the 4th
year in a row. This grant, in the amount of $1.5 million dollars, allows VMP and other technical assistance providers to continue to provide mentoring programs with free technical assistance, training, and access to high-quality information and resources on evidence-based mentoring. Could your program use some support and guidance in enhancing program management and quality? Are you interested in aligning your program with best practices in recruitment, screening, training, and more? Click here to learn more about the NMRC resource and to submit a request for one-on-one technical assistance with VMP!
Technical Assistance Spotlight:
VMP's technical assistance efforts to support the launch of Staunton-based Stand by Me mentoring program were recently featured on the
NMRC blog.
The Stand By Me program, which is a part of the Staunton Mentoring Alliance, connects Staunton City High School students with adults who help guide students through the transition from high school to college or employment. Mentors also provide support to help the student maintain or improve school success and explore and prepare for future career opportunities.
Stand By Me sought technical assistance from VMP to ensure that their program model emphasized the safety of their mentees and gained the trust of the community. "Adults are making a significant commitment as mentors," said President Marc Armstrong, "and we want to be sure that the program helps build on this in order to create successful, long-term relationships." Stand By Me partners with other organizations in the community, including the public school system and community service agencies, and gives them a seat on an advisory board. "VMP's TA gave us the understanding as to how best to serve stakeholder organizations in the community".
Click here to read the full feature.
Click here to learn more about the Staunton Mentoring Alliance.
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VISTA Member Helps Build Capacity at STORY
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VMP's AmeriCorps VISTA program places members at mentoring program host sites
 across the state, providing full-time workers to build organizational capacity, recruit and train new mentors, and align program foundations with best practices for the field. Sites may host VISTAs for up to three years. In this feature, we highlight first year host site
STORY.
Southside Transformation Opportunities for Residents and Youth (STORY) is a newly established nonprofit associated with Hopewell Redevelopment & Housing Authority. STORY's mission is to provide access and exposure to programs and services that will renew minds and restore hope for low-income individuals and families in the Southside Region. STORY currently administers the ML2 After School Program to 27 youth in the city of Hopewell. Last week, VMP's VISTA Leaders and VISTA Supervisor attended STORY's open house for attendees to learn about the program's long-term goals, which include more workshops and community events for matches and guardians, building partnerships, and transporting more mentees to participate in the program. STORY was proud to share that all of their mentees received impressive grades on their first report cards. Congratulations to all involved in the program on its growth and success!
Check out a feature on STORY here. Learn more about VMP's VISTA program here.
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Make Sure Your Program is in the Mentoring Connector Database
Make sure your mentoring program is included in VMP's network! The Mentoring Connector is a free
service that increases your program's visibility and allows potential mentors and mentees in the area to find your program. Interested volunteers can search for mentoring opportunities by zip code, ages of youth served, and program type to find and contact programs that interest them. During National Mentoring Month in January, this database will be prominently featured during national awareness campaigns.
If you'd like to have your program listed in the registry, click here.
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Program Resource: Measurement Guidance Toolkit Now Available
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Measuring program outcomes and identifying appropriate evaluation tools can post a big challenge for mentoring programs. The NMRC's
Measurement Guidance Toolkit has made this task much easier by
providing recommended instruments for measuring key youth outcomes in mentoring programs, as well as several risk and protective factors that may be relevant to program outcomes. All parts of the toolkit
have been carefully reviewed a
nd selected by the
Research Board
of the National Mentoring Resource Center.
Access the toolkit
here.
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Registration Available for the National Mentoring Summit
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The 7th Annual National M
entoring Summit will take place
February 1-3, 2017 at The Renaissance in Washing
ton, D.C. The theme for this year's summit is "Building Relationships, Advancing the Movement". The National Mentoring Summit is the only national convening of youth mentoring professionals, researchers, philanthropic investors and government and civic leaders aimed at collectively strengthening and expanding quality mentoring relationships for young people across the country. To learn more and r
egister, click
here.
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Virginia Mentoring Partnership is a 501 (c) 3 organization that is supported by grants, corporate donations, individual d
onations and in-kind services. For more information or to support our organization please visit us at
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