This document discusses special issues for rural mentoring programs. It identifies five key challenges: mentor recruitment, sustainability, match activities, transportation, and confidentiality. Specific strategies are provided to address each challenge, such as recruiting mentors from local businesses and organizations, identifying low-cost match activities, providing transportation incentives, and establishing clear confidentiality policies. The webinar presentation included a panel of experts from rural mentoring programs who discussed challenges and solutions.

1. Out Here in the Field:
Special Issues for Rural
Mentoring Programs
Friends for
Youth s
Mentoring
Institute
September
2011 Webinar

2. Webinar Logistics:
Adding Comments
• All attendees muted for best sound
• Type questions and comments in the question box; responses
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during webinar
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• Please monitor background noise

3. Panelists
Sarah Kremer, ATR-BC Kathryn Eustis Dena Valin
Program Director Founding Director Executive Director
Friends for Youth s Calaveras Youth Big Brothers Big
Mentoring Institute Mentoring Program Sisters of Nevada
County

4. Link to slides and
recording of webinar will
be posted to
http://
www.friendsforyouth.org
/Webinars.html
Brief survey upon exiting
webinar and resource links
in follow-up email

5. Out Here in the Field:
Special Issues for Rural
Mentoring Programs

6. 5 Key Challenges
— Mentor Recruitment
— Sustainability
— Match Activities
— Transportation
— Confidentiality

7. Mentor Recruitment
Challenge: Recruiting Men
— Present to or meet with groups
where men are predominant
— Interest-based/targeted
recruitment
— Word of mouth: referrals from
existing mentors
— Recruit couples

8. Mentor Recruitment
Challenge: Socio-Economic Barriers
— Select special mentors to help recruit
higher SES mentors
— Emphasize that your mentees are
volunteers; resist stereotypes
— Recruit community leaders as
examples and magnets for others

9. Mentor Recruitment
Challenge: Fewer Media Outlets
— Recruit people in media to be mentors
— Use roadside banners for visibility
— Create online presence using Social
Networking sites, websites, electronic
newsletters, banner ads
http://www.facebook.com/BBBSNC
http://www.facebook.com/
CalaverasYouthMentoringProgram
— Wide-spread distribution of brochures
— Form a Speakers Bureau and/or
outreach committee

10. Mentor Recruitment
Challenge: Lack of Corporate
Partnership Opportunities
— Go to larger employers in area
(UPS, County Government, PG&E)
— Don t forget that local small
businesses can also be partners!

11. Forming Business Partnerships
— Step 1: Assigning the task of developing business
partnerships to the right person in your agency
— Step 2: Identifying Target Companies by identifying the
Critical Few.
— Step 3: Creating and Sharing the Mentoring Story
— Step 4: Developing a Relationship
— Step 5: Engaging and Involving
— Step 6a: Preparing to ask and asking for the partnership
— Step 6b: Recruiting and enrolling employee volunteers
— Step 7: Providing Stewardship and Accountability

12. Sustainability
Challenge: Lack of Corporate
Partnership Opportunities
— See Mentor Recruitment Slide
Challenge: Organizational Structure
— Become a part of umbrella
organization or a national/larger
organization

13. Sustainability
Challenge: Access to needed
information/data to make your case
— Partner with entities who collect the
data you need:
— Schools
— County Departments (Public Health,
Probation, Behavioral Health, etc.)
— Collaborate on grant proposals and
combine efforts to collect data

14. Sustainability
Challenge: Community awareness and
support
— Create an event that brings the
community together

15. Match Activities
Challenge: Recreation Can Be Costly
— Identify community service
opportunities
— Encourage matches to fundraise for
their own activities
— Partner with schools to get free tickets
to school functions
— Create a Match Advantage Program

16. Match Advantage Program
This special program allows volunteer mentors to enjoy
time with their mentees while receiving a discount when
they visit participating local businesses. This helps reduce
the cost for the volunteers who choose to take their
mentees to local restaurants, shops and other businesses.
— How does it work?
— The business owner or manager defines what type of
discount or special promotion they d like to offer your
volunteer mentors.
— You issue a Match Advantage Card to each volunteer listing
all of the partner businesses and the discounts they offer.
— Volunteers must present their match cards to receive the
discount. Cards include the volunteer s name, the
mentee s name and the date of match.

17. Match Activities
Challenge: Greater exposure to high-
risk activities
— Make sure you know what activities
your liability insurance will and will not
cover
— Create clear policies on non-allowable
activities and train matches on them

18. Parent-Mentor Conference
Section IV of Agenda:
Possible Areas of Concern to Be Discussed
A Money
B Family Contact/Pick up/Drop Off
C Special Permissions and Insurance Restrictions
D Medical Emergencies
E Food Issues and Allergies
F Values and Discipline
G Communication and Confidentiality, with each other
and the program
H Goals/Accomplishments during the year

19. Clarify What Your Insurance Covers
The Mentoring Program has purchased additional
coverage for the following activities that mentors and
mentees enjoy doing together:
Kayaking, Canoeing, Swimming, Hiking, Riding ATVs, Fishing,
Bike Riding, Use of Power Tools (for woodworking, etc.),
Sledding, River Tubing
Please note that there is NO INSURANCE
COVERAGE for the following activities. Therefore,
they are not allowed while participating in the
Calaveras Youth Mentoring Program:
Riding Motorcycles, Using Chainsaws, Target shooting and/or
ANY use of guns, Motor-boating, Trampolines

20. Transportation
Challenge: Mentors won t commute to
meet with their mentees
— Recruit mentors geographically/by where
the mentees live
— Choose a mentor who lives near the
child s school
— Provide incentives for mentors to drive the
distance (gas cards, tax write off, turn
drive time into mentoring time)
— For children on waiting list, invite parents
to accompany them in group activities

21. Confidentiality
Challenge: Smaller communities create
less anonymity
— Create and share confidentiality policy
with volunteers and staff
— Provide opportunities for mentors to
talk about their challenges in a safe,
confidential environment

22. Q&A
— Any other challenges for rural mentoring
programs not mentioned here?
— Further questions can be directed to:
Kathryn: (209) 736-6092
keustis@ccoe.k12.ca.us
Dena: (530) 273-2227
director@bigsofnc.org

23. Thank You!
Don t forget to sign
up for the rural
mentoring forum on
the National
Mentoring Center s
web site at:
http://
mentoringforums.educa
tionnorthwest.org

24. Link to slides and
recording of webinar will
be posted to
http://
www.friendsforyouth.org
/Webinars.html
Brief survey upon exiting
webinar and resource links
in follow-up email

25. Next Webinar
Tuesday, October 18
Mentoring Impacts on Alcohol,
Tobacco, and Other Drug Prevention

26. www.mentoringinstitute.org
650-559-0200
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