Mission & process
mission: Overcoming Isolation with Mentoring
We ask high school youth two questions:
Do you have one safe adult that you can lean into with the best and worst in your life?
How confident in knowing what job path inspires you to pursue in adulthood?
The breakdown of the family has led to a generation of young men and women experiencing relational isolation, trauma, and a hopeless trajectory. They lack quality relationships that build a foundation of their worth and identity. Who will help them overcome their greatest personal struggles, explore and pursue their academic and career calling, establish their core values, and build a network of formative relationships for lifelong growth?
Mentoring Partners (MPC) maintains a growing team of business and community partners that excel in mentoring high school youth. We equip adult mentor volunteers to invest in the maturity of young adults in relationships, academics, career, and spirituality/values. This bridge of mutual friendship between two generations transforms at-risk youth into impactful leaders in their families, communities, and workplaces. It further equips adult mentors to be a more excellent spouse, colleague, and advocate in their community.
Process
Building Friendships and Foundation:
The relationship between high school teens, their mentors, and even their parent/guardian(s) has to first establish a foundation and discover their common ground. That is why much care is taken in matching, and during the first few months they spend time in conversation over meals, recreation, and a variety of mutually enjoyable activities. Each match also has a monthly Zoom coaching call to support them with education and accountability.
1
Uncertainty in career path is the number one fear voiced by students we serve. We utilize the Birkman Test, and the Flourish Coaching "Career Clarity" course, to bring self-awareness to each mentee regarding their attributes and areas of vocational interest. Each teen chooses three job pathways to explore in the field. Mentoring Partners provides a professional for the mentor and mentee to interview in each job pathway. This is where young adults discover their vision and passion for an inspired career trajectory, as they meet engineers, tradesman, politicians, business executives, etc.
2
Academic and Career Exploration:
The One Year Plan:
3
In April the teen and mentor write a plan in the areas of relationships, spirituality and values, and career and academics, all based upon the student’s personal insights gained during the mentoring term. These plans are meant to guide the next season of growth, and assure the student ins guiding the process to truly make it "their plan." It is the goal of Mentoring Partners of Cincinnati to serve students until they graduate high school and launch into the next phase of life with relational strength, vocational clarity, and a belief system that is uniquely their own.
A youth launched into adulthood on this foundation is unstoppable!