The SHIELD
Mentor Program has been set up to help
support the personal goals of youth and to establish a positive, trusting
relationship between online adult participants and the mentees. Our iMentor program uses technology for mentors and mentees
to communicate effectively online at their convenience. It's safe and
secure and creates a fun environment for youths to create personal life goals. iMentors make a one-year commitment to
email their mentees on a weekly basis.
Online mentoring is
done online using a secure platform, and all communication is monitored to
ensure participant safety. To help you support
the mentoring relationship SHIELD provides writing prompts posted.
How it
Works:
STEP 1: Complete an
online application through our mentoring platform, iMentor Interactive, which
includes personal information and mentoring preferences.
STEP 2: The SHIELD
staff reviews the applications and will be in contact with you to schedule your
initial 2-hour training/orientation (visit the calendar to RSVP).
STEP 3: While you
are waiting to be matched, you can attend monthly group mentoring sessions to
meet prospective mentors and mentees (visit the calendar for upcoming events).
STEP 4: SHIELD selects matched mentors and
mentees to be unveiled during the Match Ceremony held in January (event details TBD). The match
process is bi-directional, taking into account not only the mentee's
preferences for a mentor, but also the mentor's preferences in a mentee.
STEP 5: The paired matches establish contact
and will visit online each week to check their e-mail through the online platform at shield.imentorinteractive.org, to respond to
writing prompts and/or to start new conversations with their matches on their
own.
At minimum, we hope that each
mentor and student will write each other at least once a week, with more
frequent communication encouraged. These exchanges are the core of your
relationship, and are the priority of this program.
BEFORE YOU BEGIN, you must complete
the online
application, and, when completed,
attend training/orientation. You will not be matched until these two
items are
completed in full.