Mentoring is multifaceted: It requires patience, understanding, dedication, compassion, and most of all remembering what it was like to be a girl.

Here are some tips:

Establish trust. This is something that happens over time. Being dependable, reliable, and consistent facilitates the development of a trusting relationship. Remember, you may be your mentee’s sole source of consistency in life
Listen. Take time to learn about the PERSON with whom you are spending time
Talk with your mentee about yourself and your life as well
Respect your mentee’s privacy and protect your own
Be honest but remember that you are an adult. Set boundaries. Be a friend but also be a role model
Sometimes the girls will be overly inquisitive about personal issues. Questions or actions that make you feel uncomfortable are inappropriate. Explain why you felt uncomfortable about this situation. This will help your mentee establish her own understanding of what is appropriate for discussion and behavior with adults
Model appropriate behavior. Be conscious of the behavior and self-concept you are projecting
Remember that girls have emergencies too. Many of our girls have taken on responsibilities that are generally reserved for adults. Even some of our youngest members may be obligated to take care of younger siblings, cook dinner, or wash clothes instead of attending activities on certain days. While you can, for the most part, adjust your schedule, our girls are faced with moment-to-moment changes in their schedules that are out of their control

The ideal timeframe would be one Saturday a month and occasional weekdays between 3.00 pm - 6.00 pm

If you are interested in becoming a mentor please contact Tina@perfecttenafterschool.org