The HavServe Youth Mentorship Program provides educational enhancement support to middle and high school students by helping them improve academic performance through service learning experiences; offering resume enhancement opportunities and training; and providing guidance in employment readiness and college preparedness through summer training, internships, college fairs, youth jobs, and community service projects. Youth participants in this program carry out volunteer activities that support the goals of HavServe projects in Haiti, thereby promoting global awareness for service opportunities and a heightened sense of empathy. The project nurtures in young people and experienced volunteers the desire to serve, through positive interactions in the local communities and beyond.
Young immigrants come to the United States for diverse reasons but with a shared goal—to embrace the American Dream. Some come to join their families; others to get a better education; and many to escape conflicts or unstable political situations in their home countries. New arrivals who live in the District of Columbia, Maryland, Northern Virginia and Orlando (Florida) face a number of challenges, including entering school at a lower educational level, language barriers, and isolation from their peers. Repeated challenges in the classroom may lead to the development of destructive habits and may make them vulnerable to losing faith in the possibilities that await them. These young people need a caring, inclusive learning environment that encourages them to make their best efforts for personal success, to uphold interpersonal respect, and to motivate them to be positive influences on their communities.
The HavServe Youth Services Program was created in 2011 in response to the growing number of immigrant teens who are suffering academically and socially or who are already involved in the juvenile court system. HavServe identifies at-risk immigrant youth and offers the support and the knowledge they need to make good choices for their future. The program empowers each young participant to make positive changes in his or her life.
To achieve these goals, the HavServe Youth Services Program has developed and maintained partnerships with local school districts and immigrant communities to promote welcoming relationships, strong interpersonal skills, and a greater sense of hope. By forging lasting bonds to the community, our immigrants can transition to adulthood with a sense of pride, accomplishment, and belonging while embracing a feeling of individual responsibility.
Estimated Time
- Mentor: 45 minutes a week.
- Organization: Ongoing
- Location: Maryland, Washington DC, Virginia and Orlando, Florida – United States
Steps to become a HavServe Mentor:
- Submit an application
- Interview
- Provide 3 references
- Complete background checks via Verified Volunteer
- Attend an orientation and training calls
- Accept recruitment letter and sign liability waiver form
- Read and accept position assignment
- Accept support and supervision by Team HavServe
- Follow-up and provide feedback to Team HavServe
- Complete review every 3 months
- Receive formal recognition by Team HavServe for your services
The HavServe Youth Services Program pairs each at-risk immigrant with a mentor for 12 months. During the year, they participate in weekly planned activities that strengthen their relationship and build the mentee’s self-confidence to succeed in the future. Mentors receive continuous training throughout the year and participate in a monthly meeting to report their mentees’ progress. HavServe taps its extensive volunteer network and the large pool of skilled professionals in the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Area to recruit caring mentors. Youth participating in the program have opportunities to pay it forward by volunteering in community service programs in their communities.
WHAT IS A MENTOR?
A mentor is a caring, compassionate adult who chooses to devote their time to a young person, offering them support, guidance, and encouragement. If you can donate one hour per week, you can change a life by helping a child build a solid foundation of values, establish goals, improve their academic and social skills, and develop their self-esteem and confidence.
WHY BECOME A MENTOR?
Our success rate at HavServe is a result of a comprehensive approach provided by our program. One of the key and proven success factors is the role of the mentor. More and more people want to have a lasting, profound impact in their community. They understand that the commitment of becoming a mentor can change a child’s life while helping them grow personally. Can you remember adults who paid attention to you, who believed in you, and who guided you during your childhood? These individuals served as mentors. Wouldn’t you like to have someone think of you as his or her trusted mentor?
WHERE & WHEN DOES MENTORING OCCUR?
Mentoring sessions range from 45-60 minutes for about 10 months and occur at a school near your home or workplace, during school hours. The days and times of mentoring sessions are arranged between the mentor and mentee depending on their individual schedules and classes. As a result, mentoring is convenient for both students and mentors.
HOW DO I BECOME A MENTOR?
Mentors learn the principles and guidelines of school-based, academic-focused mentoring. They participate in an orientation session and receive a manual that contains tools for addressing the general needs of their students, which can include improving grades, preparing for college, career planning, developing life skills, community service and service learning.
MENTORING APPROACH
Our mentors provide low-income children with a caring volunteer mentor, a college success coach, while working alongside parents, teachers, students and the community to make a difference.
Mentoring Approach
Providing low-income children with a caring volunteer mentor, a college success coach.
Engaging parents, teachers, students and the community in making a difference.