Mentors Make a Lifetime of Difference!

Become a Mentor

As Talitha Koum children enter public school Kindergarten, Talitha Koum goes along, continuing to provide love and support. Part of that support comes through our Mentor Program, designed to help each child in ways that do not replace parents, but join with parents to augment a child’s comprehension of and ability to navigate the widening world and continue on the journey toward wholeness ~ body, mind and spirit.

We are often asked, “Do parents want this extra person (or couple or family) in their lives?” Indeed, they do! If one of their children leaves us for school without a mentor, we will receive regular calls from the parent with hopes that a mentor has applied who might be just right for that child.

Our process builds confidence and trust all along the way. We are quite careful to discern whether the mentor candidate will find this a fulfilling experience, and, if so, which child will make the very best match.

Following are some of the ways our mentors participate:

• In the main, take your mentee along for the ride of your normal life. There are opportunities for sharing at every turn, whether you are at the grocery store, bank, dry cleaners, a church outing, a play or a concert, or in your own backyard.

• Attend open house at school or early “round up” night if the child’s school has one.

• Ask the parent for permission to meet the child’s teacher either before the start of the new school year or afterwards.

• Help with special projects or homework assigned to the mentee that might require an adult’s participation such as the making of a costume or a special art project, always asking the parent if they would like such help.

• Occasionally drop by the school, when time permits, to have lunch with the child.

• Assist the mentee, as the parent sees fit, to participate in all school projects, parties, contests/events, being sure any necessary supplies are available.

• Help parent to participate as a classroom volunteer or in filling any other special requests of the teacher.

• Attend teacher conferences with the parent or on behalf of the parent, discussing in advance any concerns the parent might have and acting as an advocate in helping to voice those concerns.

• Celebrate report cards with the child. Mentors will find something positive to celebrate. All “As” are nice but unusual. Within each child there are special gifts and talents. Notice them and call them forth!

Communication

Mentors may be responsible for a great deal of the communication in this relationship and will be proactive. Mentors and parents exchange key information regarding phone calls and best ways to stay in touch. The parents of mentored children provide the school with authorization for the mentor to act in the parent’s stead, able to pick up the child from school or have lunch with the child at school, speak with the child’s teacher or counselor, attend meetings and events, etc.

Goals of Mentor Program

• Enter into this relationship with your mentee and his or her family with humility, acceptance, and respect. Love demands it. With those foundational characteristics, an amazing union can be built.

• Maintain ties with Talitha Koum. Encourage parents to continue attending TKI Parents Meeting on Tuesday evenings at 6:00. Our motto is: Once a Talitha Koum parent, always a Talitha Koum parent.

• Encourage positive relationships with school personnel.

• As parents desire or allow, communicate in a productive way with teachers and others in the school.

• Be an advocate when necessary for the child.

• Help your mentee to achieve and experience success so that his/her education becomes a positive experience.

• Help parents establish the expectation that their child will succeed and will graduate.

• Celebrate success with the mentee and his or her parents.

• Listen to your mentee! She or he will give you clues to what they value and love to do. It may be the merest suggestion, but as you follow up with that thread, you'll find whether or not it is tied to an activity worth pursuing. One mentee in the third grade simply said, "I think I might like basketball." The mentor placed her in Upward and then Kim Mulkey Camp. She became her high school team’s leading point guard.

• Provide cultural experiences that extend from the arts to experiences in nature, sports, and wherever the child’s natural interests lead.

• Speak often the thought of attending college, technical school, or some other form of higher education! When the time comes, encourage the mentee to take dual credit courses.

• Relate to the mentee in a way that teaches trustworthiness, acceptance, compassion, and kindness. Simply lead by example.

Do you hold an interest in seeing these children continue to excel until they wear a cap and gown?  We need dedicated mentors who take the responsibility for one child with the intention of being present in his or her life until the mentee goes to college or into productive employment. Try it for a year!

Mentors come in all adult ages, stages, and walks of life.

• Some mentors act as individuals, some as couples, others as families who have their own children, or as teams of two who share a particular child.

• Mentoring begins when the child is launched from Talitha Koum to attend Pre-K or Kindergarten in a local school.

• It is best if the mentor has entered the program in advance so that the mentor gets to know the child while he or she is still in our care at Talitha Koum during the Pre-K year. During that time the mentor will likely be drawn to mentoring a particular child. Yet, it has also worked well for a mentoring prospect to simply say whether a boy or girl is a better fit and what age child is preferred. Talitha Koum has children awaiting mentors who are already in elementary school.

• Significant mentoring program support is provided through Talitha Koum’s Clinical Director, Nurture Center Director, and by way of our long-held relationships with the parents of our children. In addition, mentors offer mentoring counsel and ideas to each other and become our best source of referrals for new mentors.

To Participate

• For further information or to enter the Talitha Koum Mentoring application process, contact Susan Cowley. Or simply fill out the application and attach it to an email to Susan. She’ll be in touch with you for a time you may visit for an interview and confidential information on the children entering the mentoring program.