What is virtual mentoring?
vMentor eligibility requirements
OFA's vMentor Program
If you can’t make this commitment, consider this....
OFA's vMentor Program uses technology to match screened, trained, caring volunteer mentors with young adults aging out of foster care.
Current and former foster youth ages 16-23 are matched with vMentors based on their needs, including professional and extracurricular interests. vMentors make a two-year commitment to email their mentees on a weekly basis.
All mentoring is done online using a secure portal, and all communication is monitored to ensure participant safety. Mentors receive pre-service and ongoing training and support as they work with their mentees on issues such as setting goals, career guidance, and developing strategies for success in life, school and in the workplace.
A vMentor:
- Provides a young person with support, guidance, friendship, reinforcement, examples and encouragement
- Wants to help a youth capitalize on his or her strengths
- Knows that building a relationship takes time, especially for foster youth who may have had negative relationships with adults in the past
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Mentoring is not about:
- Sending an email just once a month
- Telling your mentee what to do
- Expecting them to share your values and goals
- Giving up***
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*** Did you know that a failed relationship does more damage than no relationship at all?
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- vMentors must be 25 years of age or older.
- They must be established in a profession or career.
- Anyone is welcome to apply; however certain careers are in greater demand than others.
- vMentors must participate in quarterly training sessions (phone conference calls paid for by OFA).
- vMentors are expected to submit semester surveys.
Mentor a foster youth and provide him/her with:
- Emotional support
- Problem-solving skills
- Connection to resources
- Independent living skills
- Educational guidance
- Professional development
To help you support your mentee in many of the areas listed above, OFA provides modules posted on the portal related to independent living, problem-solving, education and study skills. Each youth is asked to complete one module of their choice a month, which takes about 20 minutes. As a mentor you can encourage and help your mentee choose their module for the month and then review and discuss the modules. They are designed not only to give information and impart skills, but to provide you with a guided mentoring experience. Having a specific topic is often helpful in getting to know each other and keeping a relationship growing.
If you would like to preview a sample module, click here.
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Do you want to learn more about the vMentor Program? vMentor-Making a
Difference provides a short overview of the program. The Virtual Mentoring
PowerPoint provides more detail and includes:
- The impact mentoring has on young people
- Virtual mentoring: advantages and outcomes
- Information about the portal
- Mentor and mentee comments about the program
- Statistical information about our success
- How OFA supports our mentors
The overview is in Adobe PDF Format, if you do not have Adobe Reader download the free Adobe Reader Program:
* Virtual mentoring uses today’s technology to help former foster youth feel connected to an adult who will encourage, guide, cajole, nudge, and care about their hopes and dreams. *
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If you don’t feel you can make a two year commitment nor have the time to communicate once a week, you might look at your areas of expertise and consider becoming a short-term Content Expert.
In addition to having a regular vMentor, there are times when a student needs assistance from an expert. For example, not every mentor has the skills to help their student find employment, provide parenting information, or give the student special support to get them off of academic probation. For these youth, OFA offers Content Experts who are knowledgeable and trained in certain areas. A volunteer seeking to become a Content Expert would go through the same application process, but instead of weekly communication, they would agree to provide support when the youth emails them asking for assistance. The idea is that these would be short term, additional relationships, based on the youth’s need to access your area of expertise.
If you have interest in volunteering in this capacity, please contact the Director of Mentoring, Jane O’Leary, at joleary@orphan.org.
Want to learn more about other OFA programs? Visit www.orphan.org.
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