Community Hope Program Seeks Dedicated Mentors

COACH Kids of Clinton County is seeking dedicated individuals to become mentors in the Community HOPE program where mentors are paired with mentees who need a guiding light in their lives.

Community HOPE mentors are expected to spend around four to six hours every month with their mentee, which could include visiting the park, playing sports, watching movies, spectating sport outings, visiting favorite restaurants, reading in the library and much more. The goal of the program is to provide community youth with an adult friend who can help guide them through life for the rest of their lives.

Mentees in the Community HOPE program may be referred by Clinton County Probation, Clinton County DCS, outside therapeutic or psychological agencies, school staff or even parents and guardians who wish for their child to have a mentor. Mentees are required to complete an in-depth application, which includes understandings of agreements and liabilities and medical information in case of emergency. Following the application, mentees will undergo a short interview to gauge interests and hobbies to ensure they are paired with a mentor who shares their interests. Parents and guardians will also be asked to undergo an interview to allow for the program manager to connect with them. Once the application process is complete, the mentee will be placed on a waiting list until a mentor is found.

Mentors in the Community HOPE program come from all walks of life, including teachers, elected officials, small business owners, retirees and much more. Mentors are required to complete an in-depth application, which includes the need for car insurance information due to the potential transport of mentees as well as basic liabilities and understandings. The application process also requires a background check to be conducted, and mentors will be asked to complete a virtual Child Safety Training that can be completely completely online and will be sent to their email. Following the successful completion of the background check and training, mentors will need to meet with the program manager for an interview to ensure they are matched with a mentee who aligns with their interests and hobbies to create the best match possible. Once the interview is completed, a match meeting will be scheduled.

During the match meeting, mentors will be allowed to meet their mentee and their mentee's parent or guardian with whom they will share contact with at the beginning of their friendship. The meeting will take the form of a game where the mentee and mentor will answer questions about themselves to see where their common interests are, whether in favorite foods, favorite activities, dreams and aspirations or other areas of interest. Following the match meeting, the floor is opened for the mentor, mentee and parent or guardian to discuss contact information, meeting expectations and more before the duo is sent off to begin forming their friendship.

Mentors and mentees can begin the sign-up process by contacting COACH Kids staff at any time.

Community HOPE mentors are the backbone of the out-of-school programming at COACH Kids of Clinton County. These mentors commonly dedicate even more time than expected to the program as they help their mentees understand the importance of serving their community by volunteering alongside them or bringing them to events to help out the COACH Kids team. While this is not an expectation, the additional help that these mentors and mentees provide the organization is greatly appreciated.

Make a difference and become a mentor today!