
Whether through a conversation or a game of catch, caring adult mentors build children’s well-being by engaging and supporting them.
Mentors are caring adults who help build a stronger community for all of us through the simple act of spending time with a child. Mentors meet regularly with a child to provide support, advice, friendship and constructive role modelling.
Mentoring is valuable because it builds strong and healthy brains, and connects young people to resources that engage them in activities and relationships to support their growth and continued well being. Mentoring gives children and youth positive role models who provide support, advice, and friendship.
Another benefit of mentoring is the value it adds to the community. Alberta is made better by the contributions of all citizens. Mentoring helps children and youth realize their potential, achieve their educational goals, and contribute to our community.
Spending time interacting with a young person may seem simple, but science tells us that interactions with supportive adults build important neural connections in the developing brain. Young people who have strong, supportive relationships with adult mentors often do better in school, are better able to deal with bullies and stressful situations, and gain the social-emotional skills they need to set and reach goals. By creating a relationship based on trust and open communication, mentors help young people gain a sense of belonging, build self-confidence and learn new skills and passions.
Who will be spending time with your child as a mentor?
Mentors are supported by local mentoring organizations that provide training, security screening, and regular follow-up to ensure your child has a meaningful mentoring experience.
Want to learn more about local mentoring opportunities for your child?
The Alberta Mentoring Partnership can help you connect with a mentoring organization in your community.
What is Mentoring?
Caring adults act as mentors when they interact in a positive, supportive, and enriching capacity with children and youth. Young brains are continuously under construction throughout childhood and adolescence, and interacting with caring adults lays the foundation for all future brain development.
Mentoring gives children and youth a positive role model who provides support, advice, and friendship during the important developmental stages of childhood and adolescence.
Alberta is made by better by the contributions of all citizens. Mentoring helps Alberta’s kids realize their potential, and that benefits our whole community.
Mentoring connects children and youth to community resources that engage young people in activities and relationships that support their growth and continued well-being.
How Does Mentoring Help Kids?
A positive relationship with a mentor can help kids:
- Do better in school
- Participate in extracurricular school activities
- Make the most of your experience in school
- Avoid bullying situations
A program coordinator will connect with you to answer all your questions.
Note: If you are a mentoring organization wanting to be profiled on the Mentoring Organization Search Tool, become a partner!
Get inspired by #MentoringMoments!
Our Instagram blog features mentoring success stories and tips to make your mentoring experience a great one.
Read our Blog
Get the information and training to make the most of your mentoring experience.
Are you new to mentorship? The Alberta Mentorship Partnership has worked with mentees, mentors and parents to develop a short orientation to your mentorship experience – for both kids and parents.
Online Mentee/Parent Training
The orientation, offered as an online course, guides children through the roles and characteristics of a mentor, examples of mentoring relationships, stages of a relationship, goal setting, match closure, child safety, boundaries, strengths, and a general description of mentoring programs.
The course also highlights the importance of the mentee and mentor learning about each other. Children can build a story about themselves called ‘All About Me.’ This story includes information on the mentee’s favourite things, goals for the mentoring relationship, and personal strengths.
The Online Mentee Training covers 5 short modules:
- What is a Mentor? What is a Mentee?
- Getting to Know your Mentor
- Let’s Be Safe and have Good Boundaries
- My Strengths
- All About me
Course Sign-Up
Ready to take the Online Mentee Training?
- Go to moodle.albertamentors.ca
- Click Create a New Account
- Fill-in all of the required fields – if your organization does not appear in the drop-down list, select Other Authorized Users or contact your organization representative
Click the link provided in the confirmation email to complete your registration and access AMP’s training course list.