THE MENTORING INSTITUTE:

A Unique United Way Regional

Partnership

Introductions

Merle Berke-Schlessel, President and CEO, United Way of CoastalFairfield County (UWCFC)

Anne Gribbon, Program Manager, Bridgeport Public SchoolsMentoring Program and Chairman of the Board, The MentoringInstitute

Jill K. Spineti, President and CEO, Governor’s Prevention Partnership

Dr. Susan G. Weinberger, President Mentor Consulting Group andMember, Board of Directors, UWCFC

Premise

The greater the quality of therelationship, the greater the positiveoutcomes for a young person.

Great collaborations can help create great mentoring relationships.

Barrier to Collaboration in Mentoring

“It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care

who gets the credit.“~ President Harry S. Truman

Eliminate the four letter word TURF.

The Governor’s Prevention Partnership works to keep kids safe,successful, and drug free today for a stronger workforce tomorrow.Established in 1989, key areas of focus are prevention of underageand binge drinking, substance abuse and bullying.

A key prevention strategy is building connections between caringadults and young people through effective mentoring.

The Connecticut Mentoring Partnership was established in1998, to provide leadership, resources and training to 150mentoring programs serving over 20,000 youththroughout Connecticut.

With limited staffing and resources, it was not possible toreach each program equally, and the hub concept wascreated.

In 2005, the Connecticut General Assembly awarded $200,000 tocreate mentoring “hubs” throughout the state.

With just $10,000 of seed money, 15 Bridgeport mentoringproviders (originally “BAM” or Bridgeport Alliance for Mentoring)quickly organized and formalized their hub, collaborating with theUnited Way of Coastal Fairfield County to eventually become theMentoring Institute, a statewide and National model for aneffective mentoring network.

Connecticut

Strategic networks (mentoring hubs) havebeen key to ensuring sustainability andeffectiveness for the state’s mentoringprograms:

Leverage limited resources;

Coordinate activities and share responsibility;

Create increased visibility for mentoring.

Strong collaborations highlight strengths and mobilze efforts.

Strategic Networks

Connecticut

United Way Worldwide

June 21, 2011 - United Way Worldwidelaunches its three-year effort to recruitone million new volunteer readers,tutors, and mentors in education.

Ensuring all at-risk children in CoastalFairfield Country are ready to succeed inschool and life.

Mobilizes the community around specificissues through a collaborative approach.

Focus on community-wide change andimpact.

History

Connecticut Mentoring Partnership launches the Urban Mentoring Initiative.

BAM changes its name to The MentoringInstitute (TMI) of Coastal Fairfield County.Expands service to 12-town region.Further defines its mission.

2005

The Bridgeport Alliance for Mentoring (BAM) is formed.BAM secures a $10,000 grant from the Urban Mentoring Initiative.United Way of Coastal Fairfield County (UWCFC) serves as fiduciary.

2008

2009 UWCFC awards BAM annual funding.BAM becomes an official initiative of UWCFC.

2010

UWCFC Board of Directors identifiesa Board Mentoring Champion

2012

A partnership of independent mentoringorganizations that work together to:

Increase capacity of mentoring programproviders & mentors;

Promote mentoring program qualitystandards; and

Increase public awareness of the importanceof mentoring and the need for more mentors.

ACE Mentor Program –Greater Bridgeport ChapterACE Mentor Program of America, Inc.

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southwestern CT

Bridgeport Mentoring ProgramSchool Volunteer Association of Bridgeport, Inc.

National Society of Black Engineers Jr. –Bridgeport ChapterACCESS Educational Services, Inc.

Champions Mentoring ProgramFamily ReEntry, Inc.

Foster Grandparent ProgramChild and Family Guidance Center, Inc.

Mentoring for Academic Achievement& College SuccessBridgeport Public Education Fund, Inc.

National Black MBA AssociationLeaders of TomorrowNational Black MBA Association –Westchester/ Greater CT Chapter

Pen or PencilNational Alliance of Faith and Justice

Urban Impact of Black Rock, Inc.

Project Friendship & Jr. ProjectFriendshipFamily and Children’s Agency

Sacred Heart University

Stratford School-Based MentoringProgramStratford Public Schools

Norwalk Mentor ProgramHuman Services Council

The Westport Mentor ProgramTown of WestportDepartment of Human Services

Wi-mentorUnited Way of Coastal Fairfield County

Participating Programs

Challenges

These mentoring programs may face:

Limited staff;

Limited budgets;

Limited capacity for growth;

Limited ability to effectively integrateall the Elements of Effective Practicefor MentoringTM.

Working together in a strategic hub creates strength in numbers.

Building a Strategic Hub

Steps to sustainability:

Identify a local agency;

Collaborate with key partners;

Identify a champion;

Adopt a strength-based approach;

Develop a strategic plan;

Leverage resources.

A. Identify a Local Agency

Positioning a regional mentoring hub withinthe community enables strategic leadership:

Identify and work towards a common goal;

Empower shared understanding;

Possible access to staff and financial support;

Impartially facilitate discussion to expandcollective knowledge.

B. Collaborate

Working together with local, state andnational partners ensures:

Individual mentoring programs succeed fromgroup efforts;

Community needs are identified and met;

Greater awareness of the mentoring cause!

If everyone is moving forward together,

then success takes care of itself. ~ Henry Ford

CT Partners

LocalMentoringPrograms

MENTOR National Mentoring Partnership

Governor’s Prevention Partnership(CT State Affiliate)

The MentoringInstitute of Coastal

Fairfield County

MentorProgram

C. Champions

A mentor champion can get the word outand expand your reach:

Open doors;

Promote and advocate for mentoring;

Encourage involvement.

Community Champion

Susan Davis, President

and Chief Executive

Officer of St. Vincent’s

Medical Center and St.

Vincent’s Health Services

Board of Directors Champion

Susan G. Weinberger,

Ed.D., United Way of

Coastal Fairfield County

Board of Directors

D. Strength-Based

A strength-based approach motivatesindividual team members:

Develops and deepens skills;

Builds and strengthens alliances;

Sparks innovation and deepens engagement.

E. Strategic Plan

The path to success requires clarityand focus. A well thought out strategicplan allows a mentoring hub toidentify and follow the most directroad to its collective vision.

Mission Statement:

To make a sustainable difference in the livesof children and youth throughout CoastalFairfield County. A collaborative network ofmentoring organizations, we build thecapacity of mentor programs to recruit, trainand match mentors, serve as a resource formentoring best practices, and raisecommunity awareness of the importanceand benefits of mentoring.

Goals:

Increasing capacity of mentoringprogram providers & mentors;

Promoting mentoring program qualitystandards;

Increasing public awareness.

F. Leverage Resources

Increasing Capacity of Mentoring ProgramProviders & Mentors

Mentor socials;

Mentor recognition events;

Training scholarships for programproviders;

Mentor workshops.

F. Leverage Resources

Promoting Mentoring Program QualityStandards:

Connecticut QBM Pilot Program;

Presentations of quality standards at bi-monthly MI Network meetings;

Dissemination of research.

F. Leverage Resources

Increasing Public Awareness

UWCFC website listing of participatingmentor programs;

National Mentoring Month(i.e., billboards, PSAs, Op-Eds, Mentorrecruitment ads, e-newsletters, etc.).

Billboard – January, 2013

Lessons Learned

Clear goals and direction are key to thesuccess of any regional mentoring hub:

A gap analysis should always be a startingpoint;

Recognize and address ‘turf wars’immediately;

Evaluate, evaluate, evaluate!

What is the Mayors’ Mentoring Challenge?

United Way of Coastal Fairfield County and Mayor William Finch of Bridgeport, MayorJohn A. Harkins of Stratford, and Mayor Richard A. Moccia of Norwalk have issued a“Mayors’ Mentoring Challenge.” All three Mayors are committed to improving the livesof young people in Coastal Fairfield County – one child at a time. They each arementors themselves, and are working to obtain the support of other chief electedofficials to take the challenge by way of proclamations, speeches, press releases, etc.

The first of its kind in the State of Connecticut, this effort is a community-wide initiativeto raise the level of public awareness of the power of mentoring, and to recruit morementors. To date, the First Selectmen of Trumbull, Westport and Monroe have acceptedthe challenge.

Marketing efforts from United Way and the Mayors’ offices direct interested individualsto one website (www.mentor-ct.org) where they can read about mentoring programsand make informed choices about which opportunity best suits their need.

Mayors of three Cities - all mentors;

6 City and town Mayors and First Selectmen have signedon for 2013-2014;

Public Awareness Campaign;

Promote the need during meetings with departmentheads/ town websites;

Mayoral Proclamations;

Record video messages – PSAs.

Mayors’ Mentoring Challenge

“Teamwork is the ability to work togethertoward a common vision.

The ability to direct individual accomplishmentstoward organizational objectives.

It is the fuel that allows common people toattain uncommon results.”

~ Andrew Carnegie

Questions?