iMentor

I love hearing about interesting programs and iMentor fits that criteria. It is a New York City based program that believes:

(1) even the busiest, most successful professionals have time to be quality mentors and that (2) formal mentoring programs can flourish in the most isolated, low-income, and under-served communities.

Since 1999, iMentor has been cultivating relationships between young people and volunteer adult mentors through using and interesting approach of e-mail correspondence and in-person meetings. Mentors and mentees develop their relationship using a combination of weekly email correspondence and monthly meetings at iMentor-sponsored events. iMentor even provides what they call, "Writing Prompts," questions that guides mentors and mentees through discussion of, "topics critical to relationship-building."

To-date, iMentor has matched over 5,000 mentor-mentee pairs, partnering with 30 NYC schools and after school programs in four of New York City's five boroughs. That's a pretty impressive record. You can learn more about iMentor at imentor.org

If you have a young male relative or know a boy far away but within email reach, consider how even consistent email connection with an occasional phone call could extend your positive influence in his life. eMentoring works.