VOLUNTEER TOP PICKS OF THE MONTH
Celebrate National Mentoring Month! Mentoring programs will help the community make progress on the Thrive2027 community-wide goals. Check out several opportunities to get involved below.
INFLUENCE THE FUTURE – MENTOR
Want to help a receptive high school student achieve his or her academic goals toward graduation and a post-secondary career? Consider becoming a mentor with the Portland Mentoring Alliance to meet with a student for one hour a week. Many students who request a mentor are immigrants or refugees and they especially benefit from having a native-born English speaking adult help them navigate this important time in their lives. Click here to view a mini-documentary about this. To learn more and apply, contact Glenn Nerbak at nerbak@me.com or call (207) 842-5358.
BECOME A FOSTER GRANDPARENT
Adults ages 55 and older can mentor and make a difference in a child’s life by becoming a Foster Grandparent. Support school readiness and academic achievement in child development centers and schools in York, Cumberland, or Western Oxford county. Volunteers who meet federal income guidelines receive a non-taxable stipend (that does not affect Social Security, SSI/SSDI, food stamps, LIHEAP, or subsidized rent) in return for volunteering 15-40 hours per week. All volunteers receive meal and travel assistance, pre-service and ongoing training, staff support, and recognition. To learn more, call (207) 773-0202 or email fgp@opportunityalliance.org.
BE A BIG BROTHER OR SISTER
Big Brothers Big Sisters welcomes adult volunteers as one-to-one mentors for children ages seven to sixteen in our community. Get involved as a Community-based Big, spending time with a Little out in the community, or a Site-based Big, meeting with a Little at the Little’s school. Start something big – call (207) 773-5437 or email info@somebigs.org for more information.
MENTOR AN INDIVIDUAL OR FAMILY SEEKING ASYLUM
Welcoming the Stranger (WTS) is a grassroots mentoring project created in response to the rising number of immigrant families seeking asylum in our community. The project matches volunteer mentors with asylum-seekers to help them integrate into the greater Portland community. A mentor serves as a friend to an individual or family to help with such things as practicing English, finding and/or furnishing an apartment, writing a resume, finding warm clothing, etc. and helps them navigate and integrate into their new surroundings. Through Welcoming the Stranger, mentors have access to a large network of other individuals and groups who offer support and guidance about specific needs. For more information, email info@wtsmaine.com or sign up online here.
Check out our January 2018 Volunteer Engagement Newsletter for more opportunities or search online at http://volunteer.unitedwaygp.org.