Become a Partner
Membership in the Mentoring Leadership Network is free, and by joining, your organization will have access to a range of services and benefits including technical assistance in the development of new programs and/or the implementation of new components for existing programs; mentor recruitment services; mentor training; and training and professional development opportunities for program staff and volunteers. Additionally, your organization will be entered into our referral database system, helping potential mentors and mentees know who you are, what you do, and how to join you!
To become a partner, complete the following forms:
Please send completed forms to:
The Mentoring Partnership of Southwestern Pennsylvania
2934 Smallman Street, 2nd Floor
Pittsburgh, PA 15201
Fax: 412.281.6683
cwhite@mentoringpittsburgh.org
Once your forms have been received and reviewed, a representative from the Mentoring Partnership will contact your organization with details about membership. If you have any questions, please contact us at 412.281.2535 or info@mentoringpittsburgh.org.
Elements of Effective Practice for Mentoring
Operational Standards for Mentoring Programs
The Elements of Effective Practice for Mentoring holds the key to success in producing high-quality relationships. The new edition of the Elements provides six evidence-based standards for practice that incorporate the latest research and best-available practice wisdom. The six evidence-based standards address six critical dimensions of mentoring program operations: 1) recruitment; 2) screening; 3) training; 4) matching; 5) monitoring and support; and 6) closure. For each standard, specific benchmarks are advanced, along with research-based justifications. Together, the standards and benchmarks provide practical guidance on how best to approach the provision of high-quality mentoring in day-to-day operations --- whether in a stand-alone mentoring program or a positive youth development program in which mentoring is one element.
Standard 1: RECRUITMENT - How Smart Futures is recruiting mentors
500 eMentors are being recruited for next school year! UPMC and local non-profit Smart Futures are building on what was an already great relationship that included UPMC having close to 60 employees participating in Smart Futures’ PA eMentoring program last year. That number increased to over 100 this year after the local non-profit won the Dignity and Respect Campaign Pledge Drive that was launched by UPMC. Smart Futures was awarded a “Day of Service” in January from UPMC after receiving the most online pledges and decided to use it as a way to recruit eMentors for its PA eMentoring program. On the Day of Service, UPMC and two of their community partners, Community College of Allegheny County and Bidwell Training Center, hosted eMentor recruitment tables at each of their sites. In one day, Smart Futures staff and UPMC volunteers promoted PA eMentoring to hundreds of potential mentors. More than 100 new eMentors signed up in the month of January!
With a more formalized partnership now in place, UPMC has set the goal of recruiting 500 eMentors throughout their system for next school year. Starting in August, all UPMC employees will receive information on the PA eMentor program via email and through their company newsletter encouraging them to get involved, ten locations throughout the UPMC system will be identified for targeted recruitment and information sessions and current UPMC eMentors will act as Recruitment Ambassadors to help spread the word and get more employees to sign up. Prizes will be awarded to the sites and individuals who recruit the most eMentors!
PA eMentoring is a unique online career mentoring program that helps high school students build a realistic career goal and a concrete path that will take them there. Conversations between mentors and students are guided by a structured curriculum that allows mentors to give students valuable advice about their own experiences. The program provides a rewarding experience for mentors to help high school students “get real” about their future: who they are, where they want to go, and how they can get there. The ultimate outcome of PA eMentoring is a student who secures a good paying job that he or she is qualified for and enjoys. For more information, go to www.pa-ementor.org.