Match. Mesh. Belong.

August 2014

Henry County Agricultural Extension District

In This Issue

The Life Cycle of Mentoring Relationships

Back to Club M for 2014-2015

It's time for Back to School and that means the start of Club M! Please check out our Back to School Update for all the important dates that you need to know.

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More On Us

New Staff Spotlight

Chelsea White is an AmeriCorps VISTA for Club M and Iowa Wesleyan College who started on July 28, 2014.

Chelsea graduated with her Bachelor of Arts degree from Coe College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa and spent the 2013-2014 academic year serving as the AmeriCorps VISTA for Service Learning and Volunteerism at Mount Mercy University in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Thank you for supporting the Club M, Henry County Mentoring, youth program. We had a very successful 2013-2014 School Year and are preparing to kick off the new year with a fun opening event in August.

Stay tuned for more information on your local KILJ radio station or by visiting our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/ClubM.YouthMentoring and our brand new Twitter page at https://twitter.com/ClubMMentoring.

Back to School Update

The Summer GIRLS Club for young women transitioning into middle or high school had its last session on July 29th and celebrated the end of summer with a lock-in at First Baptist Church on August 5th where they enjoyed workshops and spending time with their friends. We will be revisiting the idea of continuing GIRLS Club after Labor Day.

On Thursday, July 31st, 2014, we were at Mount Pleasant School Registration Day and signed up 60 youth for Club M and recruited a few of our high school mentors. We will begin recruiting college mentors when Iowa Wesleyan resumes classes on August 19th and then begin making matches and following up with families.

If you are still interested in filling out an application for your child to be involved in Club M or you have a student in high school that would be interested in being a mentor, applications are available at the extension office and at your child's school in Mount Pleasant.

On August 20th, 2014, Club M is hosting the Welcome Back Launch Party at Mount Pleasant Middle School for everyone who has been involved with Club M from 1:30 to 2:00 pm. Parents please make sure that you have transportation available for your child at 2:00 pm.

On August 26th, 2014, Club M is hosting the Welcome Back Launch Party in Winfield-Mount Union.

Our first Club M Wednesday in Mount Pleasant will be on September 10th, 2014 from 3:30 to 4:30 pm in the Mount Pleasant Middle School cafeteria and our first Club M Wednesday in Winfield-Mount Union will be on September 10th, 2014 from 2:00 pm to 3:00 pm in the cafeteria.

The Life Cycle of Mentoring Relationships

This information comes from a blog post called The Life Cycle of Mentoring Relationships from the Search Institute about the mentoring relationship. This blog identifies six stages in the "life cycle" of the mentoring relationship that mentors could experience when working with youth mentees.

1) Introductory Stage. During this time, the primary objective is for you and your mentee to get to know each other and begin establishing a sense of trust. Two things are especially important during this time: be reliable in showing up for meetings and involve your mentee in deciding how you will spend time together.

2) Relationship-Building Stage. Your primary objective during this time is to solidify a sense of trust and closeness with your mentee. You can begin to expand your mentee's range of experiences by going to museums, for example, but continue to let your mentee make decisions about how you spend time together.

3) Growth Stage. Your objectives here are to encourage and support your mentee's social, emotional, and cognitive growth. You should be quite comfortable with each other by now. You may find that your mentee will share little problems that he or she is having, which gives you a wonderful opportunity to guide him or her in developing problem-solving skills. If sensitive topics come up, turn to your program coordinator for advice.

4) Maturation Stage. At this stage, you know your mentee quite well, but it's still important to let your mentee take the lead in what you talk about or do. Working on life goals can be very productive at this stage. Even elementary kids like to talk about what they want to be when they grow up.

5) Transition Stage. Transitions happen for many reasons. The mentee may be getting older, or his or her family may be moving. Allow your program coordinator to help manage this transition.

6) Termination. The final stage is when the relationship ends. Either you or your mentee may initiate the termination, or life circumstance may lead to it. In many cases, mentors and mentees have worked together for many years and continue to stay in touch.

Staff

Cassie Gerst---Program Coordinator

Heidi Hedgecock---Match Support Specialist

Chelsea White--AmeriCorps VISTA for Club M and Iowa Wesleyan College

Volunteers

Needed

Do you like being a mentor? If so, help us spread the word about our program.

Here is what you could do to help us match more children....

1) Invite us to speak at your Club, Association,Church or work

2) Ask your work or church to put a blurb about us in thier Newsletter

3) Add www.HenryCountyMentoring to your email signatures

4) Facebook about the fun you are having as a Club M Mentor

5) Tweet out about Club M and follow us on Twitter

6) Talk to a friend about us....and help recruit more Volunteer Mentors

Thanks for helping spread the word! Match. Mesh. Belong. Club M.