Madison County, New York, is a predominately rural community with pockets of resources. Due to the nature of the community and county size some youth have unequal access and awareness of the supports available to them. Youth may also be limited to their local neighborhoods due to other barriers including family schedules, transportation, poverty, knowledge of resources and individual circles of social supports.
Volunteer Mentors are in a unique position and are the ultimate resource for many youth as they navigate the changing world. Volunteer Mentors can provide a listening ear and mindful guidance as youth determine who they are, what they want to do, who they want to be and how that impacts everyone around them. A volunteer can provide new options, experiences and opportunities to safely explore the world around them. Volunteer Mentors would act as a conduit to normalizing experiences for youth, trying new things, learning skills, practicing those new skills and to be comfortable with social opportunities.
Expectation:
A Volunteer Mentor would commit to a one-year match with one youth starting at time of enrollment for the youth. The Volunteer Mentor would be expected to provide approximately 2 visits a month, at a total of 4 hours or more per month, to that assigned youth. Activities include transportation in the Volunteer's personal automobile to and from activities, attending community events, creating and identifying activities with the youth participant, counseling, validating, and more of the youth. A list of activity ideas would be provided to support the Volunteer's knowledge and inspire match outings. Some training is required and provided by the program. Ongoing logs of activities are required monthly to the Program Manager. The program does provide gas stipends as well as materials (i.e., arts and crafts items, games, safety items, and related), tickets/vouchers to events and some limited reimbursement opportunities, all as funds allow.
