Governor s Mentoring Initiative
Update
Visit Us!
We have a new website:
www.flamentoring.org
(You ll also find us at www.flamentoring.net; www.flmentoring.com;
www.floridamentoring.org; www.floridamentoring.com
www.floridamentoring.org or www.floridamentoring.net, but we will
promote www.flmentoring.org).
News You can Use!
Teen Trendsetters reading mentors!
This summer, 30 high school students will be selected to serve as the inaugural
group of Teen Trendsetters“, Reading Mentors. The Governor s Mentoring
Initiative and
Florida Tr
e
nd s Next
are looking for students who understand the
value of devoting time to helping others, who appreciate the importance of
reading and who have what it takes to get other students involved.
The goal of the Teen Trendsetters“, Reading Mentors program is to encourage
high school students to become involved in their local communities by becoming
reading mentors and tutors. The program will also provide elementary students
with positive role models who will promote the importance of reading.
The selected students will receive an all-expense paid trip to Universal Orlando“
in July to receive training based on the latest research in reading conducted by the
Florida Department of Education as well as training provided by our office on
how to serve as a leader and motivator for mentoring. Perhaps needless to say,
these students will also have the opportunity for shared fun time at Universal
Orlando“.
Upon completion of this training, the students will return to their home school to
recruit other high school students for the program and to establish a mentor
program at a local elementary school in their area.
You also may download a printed version of the application by going to
www.FloridaNEXT.com or www.flamentoring.org.
ABLE Trust Youth Leadership Forum
The Able Trust is gearing up for its 3
rd
annual Youth Leadership Forum. Fifty-two
high school students with disabilities from throughout Florida have been chosen
to come to Tallahassee from July 25-28, 2002, to learn about leadership
development, career options, academic resources, self advocacy and much more.
The Able Trust is requesting help in identifying approximately 30 adult mentors
with disabilities from the careers listed below. These mentors would need to
commit just two hours on Friday, July 26 from 12 - 2 p.m. to attend the Mentors
Luncheon in Tallahassee. The luncheon pairs the adult with two students who
have expressed an interest in said career. Students have an opportunity to talk
one-on-one with the mentor, ask questions about their education background,
challenges they face in their job, what they enjoy about it, etc. It s a great way to
expose these young adults to a variety of career options and help them prepare for
life after high school. And students come from all over the state so we re looking
to have mentors represented geographically, just like our students.
If you know someone who would make a great YLF mentor in one of the below-
listed careers, please call Audra Peoples, YLF event coordinator at 888-838-2253
or email audra@abletrust.org.
Sample News from Around the State
(We love to hear from you! be sure and send your info for our website! We update weekly!)
SW Florida, Big Brothers/Big Sisters
- for the next school year will start
a reading program for K-3 students. The mentors will still meet one to
one, but will also lead a reading program that is science-based. The
reading groups are designed for groups of 12 kids to one mentor. They
will recruit kids from the small groups into the one-to-one program. We
hope to serve 2,400 kids in the reading program and will still be doing the
one-to-one mentoring.
Santa Rosa Mentor Center -
Mentor Santa Rosa officially launched in
December. During the first month, they had over 30 mentors enroll.
Take Stock in Children
- Take Stock is proud to announce they have
been chosen by the National Mentoring Partnership to receive the 2002
Excellence in Mentoring Award for Program Leadership. Distinguished
previous winners include California s Share the Path, BBBS of Greater
LA, The Johns Hopkins Youth Mentoring Program and NYC Mentoring
Program of the Board of Education. Congratulations on this honor!
Martin County Governor s Mentoring Initiative program - Port
Salerno Elementary -
Recruited 71 mentors from 12 businesses and 9
civic organizations. They estimate 94% of the students mentored improved
their letter grades.
On Monday, April 15, 2002, Beatrice Dolce, a student at Miami
Northwestern Senior High was named this year s
Governor s Mentoring
Initiative Youth Mentor of the Year for southeast Florida
. The award
was open to young people eighteen years of age or younger residing in
Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, and Monroe Counties. Beatrice is an
outstanding example of the type of student who will lead our great state in
years to come. She takes great pride in the accomplishments of her mentee
Little Kevin Williams and is dedicated to improving his reading skills.
Beatrice is a fine example of mentoring at work and it is our hope that her
passion for helping Florida s youth spread throughout the state s
educational system. The award was sponsored by the Miami Heat and the
Florida Lottery.
Americorps Expansion -
Currently there are 631 Americorps members in
Florida who are mentoring more than 6,000 elementary students at 203
schools. As a result of President Bush s call for a 50 percent expansion of
Americorps, the Florida Commission on Community Service will make
Just Read, Florida!
their first priority. They have a goal of signing up
500 additional Americorps members who would be devoted specifically to
serve as reading mentors, impacting an estimated 3,000 students.
Grants, free stuff and funding opportunities
The
Constitutional Rights Foundation s Robinson Mini-Grant
Program
honors the late Maurice R. ( Robbie ) Robinson, founder of
Scholastic, Inc., champion of innovative education, and longtime
supporter of effective citizenship education. Each year, CRF awards mini-
grants of up to $600 for K-12 service-learning projects designed to address
serious community issues. The deadline for this year s grant is October 18,
2002. (Supposedly not too hard to get!)
See: http://www.crf-usa.org/network/crf_robin.html
The
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
has committed $100 million to
expand its successful national volunteer care giving program, Faith In
Action. The Foundation will triple the current 1,000 programs, funding
new programs in communities across the country. In the past year, 249
programs have received Faith in Action grants. Grant applications are
currently being accepted for 2002. Faith in Action awards grants to local
coalitions representing volunteers of many faiths, who work together to
care for their neighbors in need. 877-324-8411, or visit:
www.FIAVolunteers.org. Deadlines for 2002 grant application: June 1,
2002.
Be sure to review the revised
FY 2002 Grants Forecast from the US
DOE
(<http://www.ed.gov/offices/OCFO/grants/forecast.html>), which
lists virtually all programs and competitions under which the Department
has invited or expects to invite applications for new awards and provides
actual or estimated dates for the transmittal of applications under these
programs.
Handspring Foundation
Offers Funding for Programs Serving At-Risk
Children and Youth ...Deadline: February 1,
May 1
, August 1, and
November 1, 2002
The foundation is particularly interested in organizations and programs
that are directed towards the following: programs targeting high-risk
youth. Funding is also available for technical assistance/organizational
effectiveness grants for organizations that focus on issues directly related
to children/youth at risk. Funds may be specifically requested for board or
staff retreats, hiring staff or consultants, staff training, or strategic
planning. Also, in our discussions with the foundation, they are very
interested in proposals for product donation in innovative ways to serve
youth.
E-mail: foundation@handspring.com.
RFP Link: http://www.handspring.com/company/foundation
DOES YOUR MENTEE DARE TO DREAM? If so, and your mentee is a
girl in grades 6-10, then she might be eligible for an
Ann Bancroft
Foundation
grant of between $100 and $500 to help her make her dream
come true. Past recipients have used grants for activities ranging from
Olympic training to driver s education. For more information, log on to
www.annbancroftfoundation.org.
Awards
The goal of the
Gloria Barron Prize
is to celebrate heroic young people -
and to inspire others to make a difference in their own remarkable ways.
The prize accepts nominations on an annual basis and distributes $2,000
awards every fall. To nominate a young person, the adult nominator must
submit a fully completed nomination packet received
by May 31
. For
more information, visit: www.barronprize.org.
Recognize your young volunteers with the
President s Student Service
Awards
. Make them a part of every ceremony and special event! For
more information on the President s Student Service Awards or the
President s Student Service Scholarships, please visit: www.student-
service-awards.org
Facts You can Use
Linda Jucovy wrote
Recruiting Mentors
. You can access the entire book
free of charge at: http://www.ppv.org/indexfiles/mentor-index.html It
includes ideas on recruiting from colleges and for working with older
adults and includes checklists and other helpful worksheets.
National News
The National Mentor grants are expected to be announced late this month.
Hold on to your hats and we will let you know as soon as we hear!
Dates to Remember
April 21-27, 2002 National Volunteer Week - www.pointsoflight.org
April 26-28, 2002 National/Global Youth Service Days -
www.ysa.org/nysd
May is Get Caught Reading month - see www.getcaughtreading.org
June 15, 2002 Join Hands Day - www.joinhandsday.org
October 26, 2002 Make A Difference Day -
www.makeadifferenceday.com
November 23, 2002 National Family Volunteer Day - www.alliance1.org
New Address!
Liza McFadden
Executive Director
Governor s Mentoring Initiative/Governor s Family Literacy Initiative
909 The Capitol
Tallahassee, Fl 32399
850-410-0696
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