Everyone Can Be a Mentor

Winning Futures’ mentoring programs are a fantastic way to guide young people down the road to success. When family members and others reinforce the message, it becomes more ingrained.

To help you have a positive influence on the youth in your life, here are tips gleaned from some mentoring studies:

• Be a supportive guide: Help teens grow positive values and make positive choices. 
• Be an active listener: Encourage open discussion and listen intently, maintaining eye contact, nodding affirmatively.
• Have fun: Grab a bite to eat, play a game or just hang out together.
• Push a little: Many teens like to have high expectations set for them and appreciate when mentors push them beyond what they have imagined.
• Be authentic in your interest: Teens know when you are just fulfilling a role.
• Guide good choices: Don’t impose your beliefs. Instead, help them think through decisions critically, guided by their deeper values.

Give perspective: Use your life experiences to help put their challenges in perspective, to see both sides of a situation.

To take part in a Winning Futures mentoring program or to learn more, visit https://winningfutures.org/volunteer/mentor.