mass MENTORING
Services

MMP serves youth mentoring programs that address the needs of at-risk youth across the Commonwealth.

While we work throughout Massachusetts, our capacity-building work tends to focus on urban areas where youth have the most unmet needs. Target cities include:

  • Boston
  • Brockton
  • Fall River
  • Holyoke
  • Lawrence
  • Lowell
  • Lynn
  • New Bedford
  • Springfield
  • Worcester

We focus on closing the gap between the number of youth in mentoring relationships and the number of youth with multiple risk factors in their lives. We have hundreds of quality mentoring providers in the state, and MMP is the sole umbrella organization for those programs.

Overall, MMP provides a variety of services to mentoring programs, including:

  • Support with meeting quality standards
  • Assistance with obtaining important resources (financial, human, etc.)
  • Advocacy for government funding
  • Public awareness campaigns about youth mentoring

Our work with programs across Massachusetts results in the creation of thousands of powerful mentoring relationships between youth and caring adults each year.

More specifically, services provided to mentoring programs focus on:

1) Training and Technical Assistance
  • We provide the consultation and training necessary to ensure that programs run according to professional standards as described in the Elements of Effective Practice
  • We train mentors and mentees, facilitate mentoring program kick-off events and provide ongoing support and consultation.
  • In 2006, MMP trained more than 1,000 mentors and mentees and assisted more than 50 organizations in starting and/or sustaining mentoring programs.
2) Mentor Recruitment:
  • We manage an online Mentor Referral System using the only statewide directory of mentoring programs.
  • This directory allows us to efficiently connect potential mentors with programs in their area.
  • MMP has partnered with United Way of Massachusetts Bay to be its lead partner in the youth mentoring component of the “Where Business Meets Community” initiative that encourages businesses to develop ways for employees to become mentors.
  • We develop and manage statewide recruitment campaigns such as National Mentoring Month and the Red Sox Mentoring Challenge as a way to identify prospective mentors and connect them with programs.

MMP also works closely with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to engage its employees in mentoring and encourage them to take advantage of the Mentoring Leave Policy.

3) Networking & Professional Development:
  • MMP holds bi-annual networking meetings in four regions of the state to provide a platform for mentoring program directors to discuss organizational challenges and solutions.
  • We also distribute regular e-bulletins to mentoring programs that highlight topics in mentoring, showcase existing programs and their initiatives, offer resources and tips for both volunteers and program staff and keep programs updated on upcoming trainings and workshops.
4) Resource Development & Recognition:
  • MMP mobilizes mentoring program partners in advocacy campaigns that seek to increase the Commonwealth of Massachusetts budget line item that provides funding to mentoring programs.
  • We also work within the private sector to identify and develop funding streams for mentoring programs, such as the Liberty Mutual Mentoring Initiative. (www.libertymutual.com).
  • MMP also hosts the annual Champions of Mentoring event that recognizes organizations and individuals that have gone to exceptional lengths to support mentoring.
  • We also create partnerships with other organizations. In 2006, MMP orchestrated a unique opportunity with the Professional Liability Underwriting Society (PLUS) Foundation to be the annual PLUS International Conference Cause beneficiary. The organization donated nearly $27,000 that was divided between MMP, Big Brothers, Big Sisters and Jewish Big Brothers Big Sisters.
5) Mentor-Mentee Match Activities:
  • MMP supports mentoring programs by soliciting and distributing tickets and passes to venues and activities like the IMAX Theater, Children’s Museum, Boston Red Sox and Boston Celtics games, Museum of Fine Arts programs and various college events.
  • Of special note, MMP organizes the annual Mentoring Night at Fenway Park at which 700 mentors and mentees from across the state attend a Red Sox game together.
  • In all, MMP has made possible more than $50,000 of subsidized mentor-match activities for Massachusetts programs in 2006.