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FAQs for Mentors
Become a Mentor
Our Mentees live in Worcester County and ages range from 6-17. They will benefit from having an additional caring, supportive adult in their lives.
– A mentor is a positive adult role model.
– Someone who is a good listener.
– Someone who will help youth explore opportunities
– Someone who will introduce youth to new activities and ideas
– Someone to have fun with
A mentor is not a counselor, social worker, teacher, parent, or guardian.
LUK Mentors are 18 years and older who come from diverse backgrounds. They live, work, or attend college within Worcester County. They are people who will be good role models for a young person. Mentors do not need special degrees or job skills. All Mentors attend training provided by LUK Mentoring before being matched with their Mentee. Mentors are volunteers who want to help a child in their community. All volunteers are checked for background information to make sure they are the best match for the youth.
– Youth between the ages of 6-17
– Youth may be involved with foster care
– Youth that will benefit from having a positive adult role model
– Live in our service area (see map under “About Us”
– Youth must want to participate in the mentoring program
Background checks include providing references from people who know them well and conducting a criminal offender (CORI), Department of Children & Families neglect/abuse check, and sexual offender (SORI) records checks.
Our program is community-based, which means you pick your mentee up from his or her home and plan activities out in the community. You and your mentee can decide on what activities you would like to do, with parent/guardian approval. The times you meet are mutually agreed upon by you, the parent/guardian and mentee, all depending on everyone’s schedule.
Our matches do a variety of activities together depending on their interests. Typical activities include going to the library, taking a walk in the park, playing a sport, helping with a school project or homework, cooking or baking, hiking, going to a local college sporting event, playing a board game together, and just talking. We encourage matches to spend time doing things that cost little to no money.
It is important for you and your mentee to build a friendship and that may take some time. Spending time one-to-one is the best way to do that. However, once you and your mentee have established a comfortable relationship, it’s ok to occasionally include your mentee in family activities and have them meet the people important in your life.
During the first two months of the match, the mentor and mentee/guardian are contacted on a weekly basis, and then bi-monthly, to see how things are going. This includes a monthly visit to the mentees’ home to meet face-to-face. The Mentoring Specialist can help with tips on how to handle situations, activity ideas and give feedback on the match is going.
Studies show that mentoring has the biggest positive impact when a relationship lasts at least a year. It is best to stay in a match unless there are uncontrollable circumstances such as a job relocation or illness. When this happens you need to contact your Mentoring Specialist and talk about how to end the relationship in the most positive way. If you are unsure if you are able to commit to a one-year mentoring relationship, you may want to look at shorter-term volunteer opportunities and ask about other ways to contribute to the mentoring program.
“You always know what to say to me when I’m down and you always make me laugh and I love it!!”
“When I am feeling down he is there for me. When I’m having problems at home he helps me work through them.”