New Mexico Youth at Risk Foundation 1208 San Pedro NE, #206 Albuquerque, New Mexico 87110-6726 Lynn Charlton, Executive Director 505.888.1801
HEROES are not giant statues Framed against a red sky. They are people who say:
It is my community, and it is my greetings be a mentor NMYAR events NMYAR sponsors News Information
responsibility to make it better. Heroes NMYAR
Youth and Mentors

*
"I think of my mentor as someone I can turn to when there is no one else to turn to."


*
"Mentors not only touch someone's life; they have the potential to touch and change the life of a nation."
Become a Mentor in 2002
Help us change "at-risk" to "at-vantage." At the NMYAR Foundation, we realize transforming a life through mentoring can be a complex puzzle. Mentoring is an important gift and your experience will no doubt produce many emotions. We are committed to thorough training and a commitment to be there for you as well as our youth to hear your hopes, concerns, challenges and rewards in your year as a mentor. We train, support and applaud you for mentoring. Download a Mentor Application in printable, PDF format.

Mentor Orientations
*
January 23rd
 *
June 26th
*
February 27th
 *
July 24th
*
March 27th
 *
August 28th
*
April 24th
 *
September 11th
*
May 22nd
 
 

Orientation meetings are held from 7:00 - 8:00pm. Call 888.1801 to sign up and receive directions to our training facility. This is an invitation for you to become personally involved in supporting a youth at risk to achieve their goals and commitments. Become a mentor, or "community partner for youth."

Expectations for Mentors
After our mentors-in-training complete the Intensive Course, these dedicated individuals enter the Follow-Through program that lasts 12 months. This phase of the training is coordinated by Brooke Patterson. NMYAR guides trainees as they learn mentors are not best friends, big sisters or big brothers, parents, police officers or probation personnel. Mentors are coaches who assist young people with the commitment that they declare in their life. It is a relationship best described as rewarding, painful and frustrating. There is lots of hard work, but it is fulfilling. More importantly, the role of a mentor is lots of fun -- and it's incredibly dynamic.

I. Core Guiding Principles for Mentors
a.. Commitment: The practice of giving and keeping your word.
b.. Responsibility: Being accountable for your actions.
c.. Integrity: Wholeness being complete. Being true to one's self. Consistency. Synchronous values and actions.
d.. Potentiality: Going beyond. Going for dreams. Open Vision. Challenging. Possibility of becoming.
e.. Respect: Honoring of every aspect of the environment and self. Reverence.
f.. Team: All inclusive support. Community involvement. Being there for each other. Unity. United front. Self expression.

II. Mentors Commit to the Following
a.. Make one personal contact and two phone contacts per week with the youth (or make arrangements with the Mentor Manager for someone to take your place in your absence).
b.. Be available one Saturday a month for a meeting from 9am - 3pm. This meeting will either be with the Community Partners and youth together or separately. The purpose is either educational or recreational. The core principles of the program are revisited and relationships are renewed. It's way to build and nurture the strong, supportive community we are fostering.
c.. Attend a weekly evening meeting.
d.. Complete a profile or questionnaire.
e.. Provide information for a background check (includes fingerprinting).
f.. Complete an interview.
g.. Supply three sources for references.
h.. Be available for a Community Partners Training session in September 2002. The training will be held Friday from 6 - 10pm, Saturday from 9am - 9pm and Sunday 9am - 6pm (dates to be determined).
i.. Attend and volunteer the last three days of the Intensive Course, held October 17th, 18th & 19th, 2002. This event will be hosted at the National Guard Armory in Rio Rancho.
j.. This is a lot to ask, a lot to give, AND every part of this request is critical to the success of the program.


----------
© New Mexico Youth at Risk Foundation, Inc., 505.888.1801