State Employee Info
State Employees Benefit from Mentoring Leave Time
With the recent rollout of Governor Deval Patrick’s State Employees Responding as Volunteers (SERV) program, employees interested in use their volunteer time for mentoring, as well as other causes like serving in a soup kitchen or cleaning up a park, can potentially do both.
Mass Mentoring Partnership was one of the original agencies that worked with the Massachusetts Human Resources Division to expand the original volunteer leave program introduced in 1992 to incorporate youth mentoring.
The original program focusing solely on school volunteering, and through the work of Mass Mentoring, as well as the Massachusetts Service Alliance, the Executive Order that officially expanded the program to include youth mentoring was signed in 1997. Since that time, Mass Mentoring has worked closely with the state to raise awareness of the mentoring leave time policy and encourage employees to use it.
Mentoring makes an impact
The opportunity to be a mentor to a child, and take advantage of the Commonwealth’s mentoring leave policy, has made an impact on Susan Montgomery-Gadbois, Director of HR for the Department of Revenue.
“Two years ago, I was matched with a 10-year-old girl from Peabody through the local Big Brothers/Big Sisters program, and the experience has been great for both of us,” said Montgomery-Gadbois. “She’s the middle child in a single-parent home, and she seemed to get lost in the shuffle. Having a Big Sister has allowed her to be experience things she wouldn’t normally get to do, and for me, it has allowed me to see life through a child’s eyes and just have a lot of fun. We’ve gone on Duck Boat rides, whale-watching, to the museums, and out for manicures and pizza. And even though we come from vary different backgrounds, we’ve been able to learn quite a bit from each other.”
Montgomery-Gadbois noted that she appreciated having the mentoring leave policy available to her. “It’s great that the state affords employees the time to take for mentoring, and I encourage others to use it. For me, it’s been great having the ability to leave work early on occasion so that I could pick her up from daycare and then spend time together,” she noted.
If you’re a state employee…
Trying to figure out how to get involved? This information will help.
- Employees can use their leave time of up to eight hours per month by participating in any mentoring program in Mass Mentoring's network.(Click here to search for a program.)
- Contact a program directly to indicate your interest in mentoring, or let Mass Mentoring make the connection for you. Just be sure to let the program contact know that state agency approval is required before officially enrolling.
- Obtain the Appropriate forms from your agency's Human Resources Office, fill them out , and get your supervisor's approval. From there:
1. Complete any training or orientation required by the mentoring program
2. Begin what could be a meaningful relationship for a long time to come, and encourage others to mentor!
Where to find forms/more information
Additional information about SERV, mentoring leave time and general program guidelines can be found on the website for Massachusetts employees. Just Click Here.