Mentor Tip of the Week

Making things with your hands can be a great way to involve several different learning processes and give you and your mentee a fun activity to do together. Origami involves folding paper in creative ways to make shapes, objects, and sometimes quite realistic representations of other things. If you don’t have any experience with origami, approach this activity with the perspective of learning together; mentors don’t always have to know how to do everything and you can model an open and enthusiastic attitude toward learning new things.

One of the most recognized origami forms is the paper crane. These creations are often connected to those who experienced the atomic bomb in Japan and the Japanese legend that if you create a thousand origami cranes, you would then be granted a wish. This creative activity connects to larger lessons in reading, world history, and empathy.

Introduce the idea of origami with your mentee by asking if he has ever folded paper to make other objects. Many school learning activities have included origami, so your mentee may have previous experience.

Together, look at some samples (written or video) of simple origami instructions. There are hundreds of forms to make - many people start with the crane, but decide together to make whatever you wish.

You'll need several pieces of square-shaped, lightweight paper (origami paper works well, but so do other kinds as long as they’re at least as thin as regular copy paper). If you have a variety of colored paper, let your mentee choose first. Then read through the instructions together. If you’re using printed instructions, be sure you understand the written/ visual directions. If you’re using a video, it may be easier to replicate. You may want to have both, to learn how to read written/visual origami instructions. Remember to model clean folds; successful origami requires some precision.Make several to remember the sequence of folds.

Be patient with yourself and your mentee! It often takes several tries to understand an origami process, no matter what age. If your mentee experiences challenges in the process, first see if you can identify the problem: sometimes it may be a fine motor skill issue (e.g., uneven or incomplete folds) or it may be a processing issue (e.g., not remembering the order of steps).

Like all activities you do together, use this activity as an opportunity to highlight strengths  - is your mentee good at folding? Or understanding visual directions? Or remembering the sequence of steps? Take notice of something positive and communicate it to your mentee. Downplay frustrations or negative talk if it seems like your mentee wants to quit folding - origami isn’t simple and it takes most people lots of time to become good. Don’t be afraid to make your own mistakes, as you’re modeling how to handle bouncing back from a misstep. You could say, “It takes practice to get these folds exactly right, but we can just keep trying until we both get it right.”

Take this activity further by reading Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes, a great book to read while you’re engaging in origami making. Depending upon the reading level of your mentee, you can read it aloud to him, take turns reading aloud to each other, or read separately and discuss the book together. Discuss both of your feelings about the story and think about making a thousand paper cranes together!

You could make 1,000 cranes either on your own or with a group of other mentoring matches and mail them together to Japan. The Children's Peace Monument in Peace Memorial Park accepts chains of paper cranes as a tribute to the story of Sadako and the atomic bomb, but you must submit a registration form to send with the cranes.

Happy folding!

Friendship Forever: A Friends for Youth and Partners Alumni Reunion

Friendship Forever: A Friends for Youth and Partners Reunion” will be held Saturday, September 15 at the Red Morton Community Center in Redwood City.

The event brings together mentors, mentees, and staff from Friends for Youth’s entire 33-year history.

The event is spearheaded by former mentor Anne Cashman. Anne was matched with her mentee Linda in 1980 when the organization was still called Partners. “I have recently reconnected with my mentee,” said Anne. “And my hope for this event is that other old friendships may be rekindled and that people may be interested in supporting FFY once again.”

Executive Director Becky Cooper commented: “Friends for Youth looks forward to reconnecting with all of the wonderful mentors and mentees that have helped make our organization what it is today. Their dedication to Friendship has made our community a stronger, safer place. Friends for youth wants to thank them for their invaluable service."

To learn more about the event visit www.friendsforyouth.org/alumnireunion

Is Mentoring a Noun or a Verb?

Since this past July's Summer Institute on Youth Mentoring when our group of researchers, practitioners, and technical assistance providers spent a week discussing traditional and non-traditional mentoring designs, I have been thinking a lot about the idea of mentoring in general. As someone who has been both a mentee (informal) and mentor (informal and formal) and have devoted a big part of my adult career to this concept, I know there can be great benefits as well as significant drawbacks, especially when mentoring is not done well. I also value models outside of what is considered traditional (one-to-one, community-based, voluntary), when they are implemented with intention and quality. However, during the SIYM week, for the first time, I really started thinking about the value of mentoring as a verb more than as a noun. (Thanks to SIYM Director, Dr. Tom Keller, for the exceptional phrase!)

In exploring several non-traditional mentoring programs, including the National Guard's Youth ChalleNGe, Friends of the Children, Check and Connect, My Life and Better Futures Projects, and Blue Ribbon Mentor Advocate, and in conversations with my esteemed peers and colleagues, the idea of supporting youth in developing their own futures through mentoring became clearer to me. 

An article that recently appeared in the New York Times, Obama Vs. Poverty, reminded me of this concept that I'm still thinking through: are non-traditional mentoring relationships more effective and in what contexts? In the article, several young people from the Chicago neighborhood where President Obama spent his community organizing days are profiled. Some are connected to adult mentors through Youth Advocates Programs, Inc. (YAP). YAP would be considered a non-traditional program: mentors are paid staff, they live in the same neighborhoods, and have experienced many of the same experiences as the youth, and the mentors often act in advocacy or even parental roles. While the article isn't focused on whether or not mentoring is helping, I would imagine that it does - in certain aspects that can help those young people be more resilient and develop their social networks, as well as the support to complete or continue their education. What I also wondered about is would this program work as well if the mentors were more typical of volunteers from what we see in most youth mentoring programs: white, upper-middle class, well-educated women? Or is there something the mentors profiled in the article bring - like modeling how to succeed from those environments or even just looking like the mentees - that other mentors couldn't?

Another thought from the SIYM: we know that mentoring is not a one-size-fits-all intervention already, but maybe what we think of as the essential concept of mentoring is not one-size-fits-all either. I've always felt strongly that traditional programs shouldn't expect their formal mentoring relationships to last a lifetime - sometimes they do and when it does, it's pretty remarkable! But, in emphasizing this one relationship that will provide everything mentoring possibly can (guidance, consistency, trust, fun, new opportunities), maybe we miss out on helping the young person understand something that may have a greater and longer-lasting value: knowing that this mentoring relationship can be replicated in future relationships. And how can we do this while not turning the relationship - the intervention - into something prescribed or artificial?

As you can tell, lots of great research, conversations, and connections from the 2012 SIYM!

Mentor Tip of the Week

Explore a thrift shop as a scavenger hunt--Make a list of things to find like something neither of you would ever wear, a piece of clothing closest to something you own, the smallest item for sale, the largest, a tool or kitchen implement that one or both of you can't figure out--is it for juicing lemons or is it part of an old coffee maker?--Bring a few dollars along in case you find a cool bracelet or baseball hat you want to take home.  There's a Savers in Redwood City (as well as some nearby cities) and the Thrift Center Thrift Store in San Carlos as well as many others full of treasures waiting to be uncovered.

Thank You to Kaiser Pemanente

Kaiser Permanente’s local Community Benefit Grants Program has awarded Friends For Youth $8,000 to support its At-Risk to Low-Risk: Drug & Violence Prevention Project.  Friends for Youth provides one-to-one adult mentors and supporting activities to youth at-risk

Kaiser Permanente’s Community Benefit Advisory Board assessed more than 100 requests yet roughly half were awarded with a grant. Friends For Youth, along with several other San Mateo County nonprofit organizations, were awarded grants.

Becky Cooper, Executive Director of Friends For Youth, commented, “Friends For Youth is grateful for the continued partnership and support of Kaiser Permanente. This grant will help us continue to provide unparalleled mentoring services for community youth.”

Mentor Tip of the Week

Go for a bike ride!  Try Crystal Springs, the Baylands, Golden Gate Park, mountain biking, or a trip around your neighborhood.  Remember your helmets, water, food, and have fun!