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What's NEW on the site? |
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Invitation to Participate in YMN Focus Groups
 The YMN and UWS are examining the partnerships/associations youth mentoring programs form with other community organisations. The surveys conducted so far have provided a wealth of information and we now would like to delve deeper through a series of focus groups being held across the country. Now is your opportunity to participate! We will be in Adelaide on the 10th of September and Melbourne on the 11th.
For everyone who cannot attend the focus groups, you can still assist us by completing the partnership/association survey if you have not already done so.
Victorian Volunteer Mentor Summit Finds Out What Mentors Want!
Youth mentoring programs from across Victoria came together in July 2008 to celebrate Youth Mentoring Week, which concluded with the inaugural Volunteer Mentor Summit. Mentors from across Victoria came together to share ideas and experiences, celebrate their contribution and give input to the sector. The Summit was put together by the Youth Mentorin Network, the Victorian Youth Mentoring Alliance and the regional coordination projects.
About 30 mentors and 15 mentoring program coordinators took part in the event which gave mentors the opportunity to share what they love about mentoring, what makes them feel supported and ways they can further promote youth mentoring in their community. Their views can be found in the document "What Mentors Want: A Guide to Really Supporting Your Mentors".
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New Factsheets |
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Youth Mentoring Network Factsheets for Mentors
 The Youth Mentoring Network will be producing a series of factsheets to help mentors deal with issues which may come up when speaking with their mentees. Factsheets 3, 4 and 5 are now available on our website!
Factsheet 3 - Getting to Know Your Mentee
Contains information about games, activities and questions you can ask your mentees to break the ice and get the conversation going.
Factsheet 4 - Trouble-shooting the Relationship
Discusses some common challenges that occur in a mentoring relationship and suggests some possible ways of resolving them.
Factsheet 5 - Careers and Job Seeking
Provides mentors with ways they can broach the career topic and provides resources they can use to help their mentee in their career and job seeking efforts.
Don't forget, Factsheets 1 and 2 can also be downloaded on our website.
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In The Loop |
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Thank you to all the NRGize Participants!
The NRGize workshop which was held in Melbourne from 19th - 21st August 2008, in partnership with the Victorian Office for Youth and the Victorian Youth Mentoring Alliance, was a wonderful success.
Everyone who attended brought plenty of energy and made it a fantastic event. This was evident during the Mentoring Olympics! To celebrate the spirit of the Beijing Olympics, delegates took part in a series of activities which formed the Mentroing Olympics during the Welcome Reception. Just imagine chop sticks, fortune cookies and two teams battling it out for Gold.
It was great to see program coordinators new and experienced sharing their knowledge and it was even better to see that some programs had sent their mentors along to learn about what it takes to run a quality mentoring program.
A huge thank you to all the participants and the Victorian Office for Youth and the Victorian Youth Mentoring Alliance for creating such a successful event!
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Perth to Paradise |
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15 year old to ride 4,500km
to raise money for youth mentoring
 In our March 2008 newsletter, we spoke about Jack Sinclair, the extraordinary 15 year old who has decided to bike ride from Perth to Surfers Paradise, with his dad, Brendon, to raise money for the charity, and youth mentoring organisation, Big Brothers Big Sisters Australia.
On Thursday, 11 September 2008 at 6am, Jack and Brendon will set off on one of the greatest challenges of ultra endurance bike riding across Australia in 30 days.
You would agree this is an amazing challenge for anyone but to be 15 and considering the challenge is inspiring in its self. Track Jack and Brendon's progress and offer messages of support on their website. The website also contains the intended route for the ride - give them a cheer when they ride through your town!
From 11 September 2008, we will also be keeping track of Jack and Brendon in our 'What's New' section. Keep an eye on our website for updates! |
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Events
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Youth Mentoring Forum Series
 Noosa Forum - 19 September 2008 The Youth Mentoring Network, in partnership with United Synergies, will be holding the Noosa (Queenland) Forum on Wednesday, 19th September 2008. The topic for this forum will be 'Mentor Magic in the Sunshine State'.
Regional Victoria Forum - Postponed
Due to illness, the Regional Victorian Mentoring Forum, which was to be held on Wednesday, 27th August 2008, in partnership with the Barwon South West Youth Mentoring Network, has been postponed. A new date will be announced soon. The topic for the forum will continue to be 'Youth Mentoring - Communities Delivering on the Promise'.
Upcoming Forum Dates for Diary
November 14th - Bunbury WA
Other Conferences and events
Australian Council for Children and Youth Organisations - Safeguarding Children Training
The training focuses on building knowledge about child abuse and neglect in an organisational context. The training also equips organisations with practical strategies to create safer environments for children and young people.
The next training session will be held on 25 September 2008.
Disability, Disadvantage and Development
Organised by the Australian Disability + Development Consortium and held in Canberra on 29th September to 30th September 2008
Promoting an event or meeting?
If you have an event or meeting that would interest youth mentoring practitioners, funding groups or mentors themselves, then you can add these events to the E-newsletter and YMN website.
Simply send an email to info@youthmentoring.org.au containing all the event details and we will be happy to help with your promotion.
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Sincerely,
Kathleen Vella
Youth Mentoring Network Australia
Visit the website at http://www.youthmentoring.org.au | |
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