MENTOR TIPS

This page will be used as a resource for Mentors and will offer websites and other valuable information to help you achieve a positive and successful mentoring experience.  Please check in frequently for updated tips and ideas.   One excellent resource can be found by going to www.mentoring.org.

Would you like to talk with other mentors? 
There is a "Mentor Place" Page on Facebook.  This is a great way to ask questions, get advice, and share ideas and experiences with the RPM Staff, other Mentors, and Post Residential Cadets.

Mentoring - the Core of ChalleNGe
Mentor follow-up throughout the 12-month Post-Residential Phase has proven to be the key ingredient to the long-term success of Youth ChalleNGe graduates.   Matching Cadets with a caring, responsible Mentor is the most critical component of the Mountaineer ChalleNGe Academy.  This mentoring relationship begins in the Residential Phase and continues for a full year during the Post-Residential Phase of the program.
Mentoring has always existed and has always been effective. There is really nothing mystical or magical about being a Mentor or why mentoring works so well.  Every successful person has had Mentors in his or her life. It could be a teacher, a coach, a neighbor, a relative, a co-worker, an AA or NA sponsor, or a minister.  What all of us have become is due, in part, to the Mentors in our lives.

After ChalleNGe ...
Cadets are REQUIRED to meet with their Mentor 4 hours per month.   Ideally this should be one hour per week with at least two of them being face-to-face meetings. The others may include phone calls, letters, e-mails, etc.   Mentors are required to complete a monthly report and submit it to the Academy no later than the 5th of the following month.  An online mentor report is available for your convenience.  The report can also be mailed, faxed, phoned, or e-mailed to the RPM Assistant.   These reports are reviewed by the RPM Assistant assigned to the Cadet.  The results are then compiled and reported to the National Guard Bureau in Washington DC.  RPM Assistants may call the Mentors from time to time to verify information or just to check on the relationship between Mentor and Cadet.  These mentor reports are extremely important.  The Mountaineer ChalleNGe Academy's continued funding is dependent on receipt of these monthly mentor reports.

Mentor Fact -  Did You Know???
Youth who were in matches that terminated within the first six months suffered larger drops in feelings of self-worth and perceived scholastic competence than youth who had never been matched with a mentor (controls).

On the other hand, youth who were in matches that lasted more than twelve months reported significantly higher levels of self-worth, social acceptance, and scholastic competence; they also reported  their relationship with their parents had improved;  school had become more rewarding; and both their drug and alcohol use had declined!