The mentor tool kit is a collection of helpful stories, guiding principles, and lists of ideas specially compiled to help you be more effective on your mission field of ONE.
Geo* and Lewis* were only a few weeks into their match when I received a call from Geo. “I checked out the game room where I was going to take Lewis later today, but I didn’t like the feel of the place. Do you have any last-minute ideas of things we could do instead? [...]
I cannot count the number of times I have encouraged Nick* that what he was doing over the last five years, spending time with Ray* (15 years old) weekly, was making a difference. My words carry some weight, but when Ray* actually expressed it to Nick himself, you could have knocked Nick over with [...]
Billy* loved basketball but was not very good at it. His mentor, Tom, had played on his high school team. They would practice together for a little each week. One day they were challenged to a game by two teenagers who were pretty good. The game went back and forth, and finally, Billy and [...]
Sue* took her mentee, Joan*, out east to visit a small museum. Apparently, the museum was horrible. It was dimly lit, not terribly clean, and had a lot of exhibits of stuffed cats. Sue felt terrible. However, she decided to make the best of it and had a contest with Joan to see who [...]
One of the most important ways a mentor can bless their mentee is by holding out hope for their future, especially in the area of the college or higher/continuing education. I think it is important to be specific and not generalize as often the young person will think that going to college etc. is [...]
My Actions Now Affect My Reality Later One mentor came to me expressing his dismay at his mentee’s academic performance. “He doesn’t realize that his nonchalance about his grades is going to cripple his chances of higher education and severely limit his future standard of living! I really want to help him see the [...]
Donnie* was going to college. “when I go to college….” commonly came out of his mouth. However, James* knew that Donnie often skipped school and rarely turned in his homework and had not even signed up for the SATs even though he was going to do it every week they met. On this particular [...]
Sometimes working with a child and having them begin to believe that they’re going to do great things is challenging. One idea is to begin to tell them that whatever they’re interested in, you want tickets for that event when they get better. I knew a young man who is very interested in baseball [...]
Negative actions sometimes sneak upon us. They start off small and they get worse and worse and before we know it, it’s very challenging to get out of the negative situation. Like a frog in a pot of water. When he gets in the water it’s cool and then as the heat turns up [...]
Hal*, the mentor, had just picked up Jason*, his 19-year-old mentee, from the group home. Hal was aware that Jason had been giving the staff a very difficult time doing his chores and carrying out his other basic responsibilities in the home as required. So, on the way to grab a bite to eat, [...]
