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What's NEW? |
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The State of Play of Mentoring in Australia
 During July and August 2009, the Australian Youth Mentoring Network conducted a survey to find out the current state of play of youth mentoring in Australia. We have now launched our report entitled 'Mentoring Matters: The State of Play of AYMN Registered Programs National Survey Findings 2009'. Key findings include:
- The number of mentored young people increased by 31.5% from 2008 to 2009
- The top priority for mentoring programs is to increase the young person's personal growth with 62% of respondents rated this as their first priority
- 18% of programs will have their primary source of funding cease by the 31st of December 2009
- 12.7% of all programs believe they will be able to sustain their program if their primary source of funding disappeared
Click here to view the report
Announcing the Australian Youth Mentoring Conference
We are proud to announce that the AYMN will be holding the Australian Youth Mentoring Conference, in partnership with the Youth Mentoring Network, New Zealand. The conference will be held annually and the venue will alternate between Australia and New Zealand.
Keep an eye on our website in early 2010 when we will call for working parties and abstracts in preparation for the Youth Mentoring Conference, which is expected to be held in Spring 2010.
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In The Loop |
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Winding Up a Program
When a primary source of funding comes to an end an  organisation is faced with the tough decision to keep a mentoring program running (possibly in a reduced capacity) while more funding is sought or to close the program. About 50 of the AYMN's registered programs are facing just this over the next few weeks as they wait anxiously to hear whether they have been successful in applying for Government Tenders. If unsuccessful many will close their doors. But what impact will this have on the mentors and the young people in your program?
A program has a duty of care to limit the negative impact a program closure has on the young people and their mentors in the program.
Ways to minimise any negative effects:
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Ensure you continue to communicate effectively with all parties involved including parents, schools and other key stakeholders;
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Let the young people know what the organisation's situation is and what it will mean for their relationships;
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Give them a specific date when all relationships will close; and
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Make sure all parties are aware of your future contact policies.
Just matched pairs?
If you have just matched mentoring pairs and they were under the assumption that the relationship was going to continue past the current closing date, you have two options. It is recommended that your organisation either continues to support the pair until the 9 month mark of their relationship (the minimum contact a mentee should have with their mentor) or transfer that relationship to another program which will continue to operate.
We know that mentoring relationships which terminate early and/or suddenly can cause harm to the young person involved. By continuing the relationship to the minimum commitment period the risk of harm is significantly reduced and if terminated correctly, can be eliminated all together.
The AYMN is producing a checklist to assist programs who are closing to ensure they meet not only their funding requirements but also their duty of care to support the mentors and mentees through this process. This will be available on our website next week.
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Youth Mentoring Week |
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Thank You for Helping to Celebrate Youth Mentoring Week!
The inaugural Youth Mentoring Week was held from 25 October 2009 to 31 October 2009. Youth mentoring programs joined in the celebrations which included festivals in parks, visiting zoos, dinners, morning teas and BBQs.
On behalf of the AYMN team we would like to say thank you to everyone who helped make Youth Mentoring Week such a success. All you need to do now is send us your photos and your good news stories about how your event went!
If you are sending us a photo or video, don't forget to complete the media consent form.
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Mentoring Stories! |
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Simone and Megan
 Megan and Simone are part of the Community Mentoring Program, which is a school-based mentoring program in South Australia.
Megan, who is a former student of the school, has been a mentor for the past 4 years and a mentor to Simone for the past 2 years. Since they met, they have accomplished many things such as scrapbooking, cooking and lots more!
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Funding Issues! |
 Are you running out of funding? Do you need to boost to the funds you currently have? Listed below are current funding opportunities which exist that may assist youth mentoring programs or mentees.
Click on the links for more information about each grant.
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Mentoring Programs |
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New Mentoring Programs Listed on the Youth Mentoring National Database!
Our database continues to grow with four new fantastic youth mentoring programs listing on our website during October 2009!
We would like to welcome the following programs to the National Database:
Click on their names above to learn more about these programs.
Add a Mentoring Program
If you know of a program in this field that is not listed above please feel free to pass on this newsletter to them and encourage them to register their program.
Remember, there is no cost involved in the program registration. By registering your program details on our online database, you will also be adding your voice to the growing number of youth mentoring programs demanding that funding bodies take a more serious look at mentoring. If we all work together, we can achieve a more knowledgeable mentoring environment and provide better support for your program, which will lead to more support and guidance for the youth of Australia.
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Events
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 Thank you to everyone who participated in all our events held during 2009! All our forums, summits and training workshops were a great success! We would also like to especially thank the programs and organisations who co-hosted an event with us. Keep an eye on our website for more exciting events in 2010 including more Youth Mentoring Forums, Summits and Workshops.
Also keep an eye on our website for further details on Youth Mentoring Week 2010 and the Australian Youth Mentoring Conference 2010!
Other Conferences and events
Australia's Welfare 2009: Whose needs? How well met?
Organised by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare and held in Queanbeyan on 16 - 17 November 2009
Next Generation Seminars
Sponsored by Kids Help Line, Optus, Headspace, BeyondBlue, Fairfax Community Radio, Sunrise and the Australian Government. Held in Brisbane on 28 November 2009.
2nd National Indigenous Family and Community Strengths Conference
Convened by the Family Action Centre at the University of Newcastle, Callaghan Campus and the Secretariat of National Aboriginal and Islander Child Care Inc. (SNAICC) and held at the University of Newcastle, NSW on 1 - 3 December 2009
Growing Up In Australia: Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC) 2nd Research Conference
Organised by the Australian Institute of Family Studies and held in Melbourne on 3 - 4 December 2009
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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