Youth Mentor Program LO10294

Hays, Joe (HAYS@volpe1.dot.gov)
Tue, 01 Oct 96 09:05:00 EDT

I have an idea for a volunteer-based, community leadership development
program. My vision, incomplete it's so new to me, is a mentor program
targeted at youth (high school and college?). The volunteer part involves
community leaders (education, religion, business, and the arts) working
with one young person for some extended period (one to three years?).

The vision entails a structured, but flexible mentor-protege relationship.
Young people and mentors are paired-up based on interest areas (sports,
music, medicine, etc.). The pairs manage their own schedule and
interaction, and renegotiate as needs and commitments may change. The
structured part revolves around the execution of a "contract" explicitly
stating what each expects out of the relationship and is willing to commit
to.

I envision some formal introduction to the process and a companion guide.
Some support system may be necessary to help teams work through more
difficult issues.

Micro-communities, such as a church, college, or chamber of commerce,
might provide some of the infrastructure to make the volunteer program
work. I also envision larger-community interaction where various
micro-communities share success stories and strategies, educate and lead
one another, and so on. I believe the model translates to national and
even international levels.

I'm calling this The Leadership Challenge (TLC) for the time being, but,
we'll see....

The reason I share my vision is because I am interested in learning what
others have done in similar programs.

I encourage input from any reader, and believe feedback from anyone
interested in leadership development, mentor programs, or experiential
education might be extremely helpful.

Thank you,

J. Martin Hays, Ed.D.
Change Management Division, DTS-69
The Volpe Center
55 Broadway, Kendall Square
Cambridge, MA 02142

hays@volpe1.dot.gov

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"Hays, Joe" <HAYS@volpe1.dot.gov>

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