Mentor Connection

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Mentoring makes a difference in young people’s lives. It broadens their horizons and helps them to build stronger relationships with adults. Research shows that young people who have mentors perform better in school and have higher attendance rates, and are less likely to use drugs, alcohol, and violence to deal with stress.

Mentoring provides young people, known as mentees, with the opportunity to explore their own interests and the abundant resources of their communities with a new friend and a fresh perspective. Mentees will learn about future opportunities in higher education and the workforce while also getting additional support with academics. Above all, mentoring provides young people with a trusting friend and partner to help them problem solve life’s inherent challenges. The experience one match has described for the Boston College Chronicle relates the important influence mentoring has on both the adult and the teen.

NCSC’s Mentor Connection matches middle and high school students from the Newton community with adult volunteers to build meaningful, lasting relationships and promote active citizenship. Mentors help youth make healthy life decisions during their teenage years while supporting them on their journey to adulthood. Young people are referred to the program by guidance counselors, teachers, and parents because they need a little extra support and guidance from an adult role model. In collaboration with the National Mentoring Partnership, the Mass Mentoring Partnership and the Newton Partnership, Mentor Connection provides support and programming to young people who are facing many different kinds of challenges in life. In addition to providing overall support and guidance to young people in the Newton community, Mentor Connection particularly aims to serve youth who are struggling with social, emotional and/or behavioral issues, substance abuse and aggression.

To become a Youth Mentee >

Mentors are caring adults, over the age of 21, who want to make a difference in the life of a young person. Our mentors range in age from 21 to 75 and they come from all different professional and cultural backgrounds. A mentor does not act as a social worker, a teacher or a parent, but rather a compassionate friend and role model. Whether you are a working professional, a graduate student, a parent, a teacher, or a retired adult – everyone has something they can share with a young person. Mentors often report that they are amazed by the positive impact the relationship has on all aspects of their lives.

In 2005, a national mentoring poll conducted by MENTOR/National Mentoring Partnership showed that 44 million adults would consider becoming mentors and 96% of current mentors would recommend mentoring to a friend.

Get Connected TODAY!

To become a volunteer Mentor>