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STORY: E-mentoring, E-ffectiveness
This is a story about an e-mentoring project connecting busy professionals with students in need of guidance. There are over six million people in the United States who volunteer through or with an organization, but it is hard for many people to find the time between work and family. The United Way Caring Connections project's online database allows professionals like Theresa Reinea to mentor students without leaving her workplace. Theresa used e-mail to launch an e-mentoring project. She is convinced that mentoring works and is inspired to make positive changes in young people's lives.
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| Discussion Questions |
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- What is unique about the e-mentoring project?
- How does it help connect people who want to be mentors with those who are in need of guidance?
- Why did Theresa want to change her business' outreach model?
- Why does Theresa believe both mentors and mentees benefit from the process?
- What did Theresa have to say about mentoring?
- Would you like to participate in an e-mentoring process as a mentor or as a mentee?
- What do you think you could contribute to and gain from the process?
- Do you have additional ideas that would make the e-mentoring project even more valuable?
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| Ideas for Action |
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Individual SWOT Analysis
Have students do an individual SWOT analysis. What are their strengths, weakness, opportunities and threats in terms of knowledge, skills, and character? What helps them succeed and what would they like to change? What can they share with others and what would they like to learn from others?
Peer Mentoring
Invite students to come up with their own mentoring project. Students can create a database at school and match up with students based on their interests and skills. Students also can create an e-mentoring project with current college students to learn firsthand about life in college. To learn more about mentoring in Minnesota, please visit the Mentoring Partnership of Minnesota at http://www.mentoringworks.org
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