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Mentor Kenosha & Racine Staff: | |
Crista Kruse
Manager
Mentor Kenosha & Racine
(262) 595-2604
Julio Escobedo
Research & Evaluation
(262) 595-2620
David Power
RUSD Mentoring Program
(262) 939-1671
Visit David's blog
Paris Ecoles
KUSD Student Engagement and Equity Coordinator
(262) 359-6237
Michael Pfeiffer
Program Assist, Newsletter Editor
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Quick Links:
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Mentor Certification Course
  
*Click on the icon to be automatically directed to Mentor Kenosha & Racine's social media sites!* |
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Greetings Mentoring Friends! |
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These recent snow storms have most certainly kept us on our toes! Even so, the team at MentorKR has been working hard to plan exciting new events for our mentoring communities. This month's newsletter is filled with events and fun projects, and many other great ideas of things for you to do! Be sure to mark your calendars. You don't want to miss out!
Best wishes and stay warm!
-MentorKR
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Bullying Conference
Registration is now open!
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Mentor KR is partnering with Peace Learning Circles to host a mini-conference on April 26, 2013: Bullying Solutions: Creating a Culture of Acceptance. This conference is for everyone! All mentors, mentoring program staff, educators, students, and all youth development professionals are invited to come together and uncover solutions that will not only change the lives of a young person, but can also greatly impact the community. The conference will be held on April 26th, beginning with a special FREE showing of the movie "Bully" in the UW-Parkside Cinema at 1:00pm, and followed up by an expert panel from a variety of backgrounds and experiences to engage in an open discussion with participants. After the movie and discussion, a mini-conference is planned from 3:30pm to 7:00pm with keynote Stan Davis (read below), and breakout sessions with panel speakers. Click here for more information.
Click here to register!
Also, be sure to read all about our expert keynote, Stan Davis, who has over 40 years of experience as an anti-bullying advocate! Click here to read Stan's bio.
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"Be Above the Influence" Project
Be Influential!
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Madeline Carrera and Daphne Ursu are participants in the Leadership Kenosha Class of 2013. They are working with Guida Brown of the Hope Council on an Alcohol & Other Drug Abuse project to advocate for alcohol and other drug awareness among youth in the community. The group will bring a "Be Above the Influence" project, that includes a contest for youth to participate, to mentors in the Kenosha and Racine areas. There will be a kick off day announced soon, and Mentors will be provided with an "Above The Influence" 2013 activities toolkit that will help them walk mentees through the project. The project will ask local students to complete a "Be it" poster to submit into a contest that will be judged by Leadership Kenosha students. The winner will be published in the Kenosha News and the University of Wisconsin-Parkside's website. The goal is that this activity will empower middle school age students to "be" the positive influence by identifying their own personal brand and creating a slogan that best describes them. Through the activity, mentees will develop an awareness of how they want themselves to be perceived and learn how their behavior can impact others. It allows for personal reflection of why staying "above the influence" is important and how they can make smart choices. The group hopes to display the personal slogans throughout Kenosha County. All 5th through 8th grade students can participate in this project. Call Michael with any questions at 595-3340.
-Daphne Ursu
If you would like to recieve more information about this project, or even to get started by signing up for a toolkit and supplies, email Mentor KR at mentorkr@uwp.edu. Also, there will be a website with full details regarding the project, to be launched in mid-March!
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New Mentoring Program in the Works!
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Behind the scenes at Mentor KR, we're in the throws of creating an exciting new youth mentoring program that focuses on getting college students out into the community to mentor youth. After a successful Volunteer Fair at UW-Parkside, numerous students have expressed interest in youth mentoring. The Men of Excellence group on-campus is also currently preparing to mentor as a group with the Godfather's Mentoring Program in Racine.
With so many students ready to mentor and make a difference, Mentor KR is organizing a unique mentoring program run by students at UW-Parkside. Inspired by the DREAM village mentoring model, Mentor KR is organizing a group mentoring cohort where students gather as an ensemble to collectively mentor youth in our community. This is a great model for a program because college students benefit just as much as the kids do, and there is a lot of power in working together to make a difference in a child's life.
We're currently in the planning phase of this exciting new project, and will launch it full swing in the Fall 2013 semester. If you or someone you know is a college student who would love to learn more about this opportunity, don't hesitate to contact our program assistant, Michael Pfeiffer, at pfeif013@rangers.uwp.edu.
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Challenge Accepted!
A Special Request from the White House
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First Lady, Michelle Obama and the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) have sparked a new challenge to catapult corporations in the world of mentoring! Companies are being encouraged to engage in the Corporate Mentoring Challenge, where they join forces with mentoring programs, or create their own.
Does your company have a strong mentoring program? Would you like to be recognized at the National Mentoring Summit for your mentoring achievements? Simply write two essays about your mentoring program or partnership and send it in for your chance to be recognized! Click here to find instructions. |
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Mentoring Certificate Offered
Accepting Registrations!
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After last fall's successful launch we are offering the mentoring certificate this spring. Our course, Building a Quality Mentoring Program: A Course for Mentor Program & Youth Development Professionals, will prepare you in the best possible way to design a quality programs that meets best practices to mentor youth of our community.
"Grounded in the framework of the evidence-based nationally recognized Elements of Effective Practice, this course is designed to provide training and resources for professionals developing and/or administering mentor programs. Components of the program include program design, program management and operations, youth development models, culturally competent delivery systems, evaluation practices, assessment tools, fiscal oversight and strategies for mentor recruitment, screening, training and retention. This course is offered in collaboration with MENTOR: The National Mentoring Partnership."
Classes will take place April 12th and 26th from 8am-12pm, and May 10th from 8am-1pm. For more information or to register, click here!
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Nonprofit Leadership Excellence Award |
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Do you know of, or are you a part of, a nonprofit organization that upheld excellent standards and made a powerful impact on our community? If so, be sure to fill out the application for the 2013 Nonprofit Leadership Excellence Award. This $2000 award is given to a nonprofit organization in our community, whose efforts serve as a model for other organizations to achieve success. To qualify for this award, an organization must have significant achievement in one of the following catagories: Innovation in Learning, Board Excellence, Outcome Measurement, or Collaboration.
If this is your organization, take advantage of this great opportunity. Applications are due by March 22nd, so don't wait to apply! Click here for the the application form.
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Looking for some great things to do during your mentee's snow day? The De Colores Montessori School has a list of snow day activities that will keep you entertained for hours. Click on the image below to see what your next activity might be.
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EXTRA!!! Read All About It!
Mentoring Resources |
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Here are some great links for mentors to find useful tools for mentoring! Use these resources to improve your skills in developing healthy relationships with your mentees. And it's totally free! You have to check this out!
 
Here is also a FREE online course for mentoring. It's an interactive website that gives information from real mentors. Through this course you will gain self-confidence in handling difficult situations, bonding with your mentee and create a stronger relationship. Click the link below to get started!
And yet another great resources, called Step-It-Up-2-Thrive. Created by the Thrive Foundation for Youth, it's all about "Sparks," those secret strenghts in your mentee that are waiting to be discovered. Read up so you can find out how to discover the hidden potential in the youth you're mentoring!
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Mentoring Messenge
