Climbing the Mountain       

The day before Hurricane Irene ripped through Vermont, a bunch of us climbed Mt. Mansfield to raise money for mentoring. Mentors, family, friends, staff, Board Members, and Gunner (a German Shorthaired Pointer) made our way up the rather long and steadily steep slope.  

"We climbed a mountain for mentoring," has a nice sound to it, and it's a phrase that applies to all of us who are dedicated to giving young people the support they need through mentoring. We are all committed to climbing the steep slope of finding enough mentors for all the young people in our community who need and want them. For some of us that means actually being on the mountain that sunny Saturday; for others it means being a mentor; and for many it means being a generous donor who supports the labor intensive work of recruiting, training, and referring mentors.  

So what's on the top of that mountain we are all climbing? I see 3,000 smiling children, each with their own mentor/friend standing beside them. Please help us get there, any way you can. Tell all your friends that you climb mountains for mentoring, and ask them to come along.

Andrea L. Torello, Executive Director of Mobius

(photo from the top of Mt. Mansfield by Marc Shaffer)  

Join Us This Fall!    

 Ask Us Who We Are 

A Documentary on Foster Care   

Followed by a Discussion with the Filmmaker  

Tuesday, September 13   

5:30-8:00 p.m. at Heritage Aviation 

Join members of the local mentoring community for a screening and discussion of the movie with filmmaker Bess O'Brien.

Please RSVP by Monday, September 12 

New Mentor Training    

Wednesday, September 14  

5:30-8:00 pm at Heritage Aviation  

Please RSVP by Tuesday, September 13  

2nd Annual
Appreciation Night  

For Mentors & Supporters of Mentoring

Wednesday, September 21  

(5:30-7:30 pm) 

Inn at Shelburne Farms  

Join us on the North Porch for a celebration of your good work for the local mentoring community!

Please RSVP by Friday, September 9 

Events From Our Partners:

"Precocious Prodigies"  

Burlington Ensemble   

Saturday, September 17

(7:30 pm)

College Street Congregational Church  

90 percent of concert proceeds will benefit Mobius and other local non-profits!

Mentoring Open House

Sunday, September 18

(1:00-4:00 pm)

Aikido of the Champlain Valley 

 
Open to all mentors and mentees!  

You and your mentee are invited to a demonstration of the martial art Aikido as well as its unique approach to harmonious conflict resolution. Participants will get an opportunity to try techniques and ask questions.  

Apple Picking at Adam's Orchard

Sunday, September 25

Organized by HowardCenter's
Community Friends Mentoring 

For more information, contact:
Kayla Schutte    

2nd Northeast Regional Mentoring Conference

October 13 and 14 

Framingham, MA

For more information and to register, visit the Mass Mentoring website!   

Interested in coordinating travel plans to the conference with other members of the local mentoring community? Please contact Linnea Harben. 

For more information about upcoming events, please email Marissa, or visit our online Calendar of Events.

Recent Events: 

Race to the Top of Vermont (August 27)   

Thanks to all of the Mentoring Racers and Supporters! 

On Saturday, August 27, runners, bikers, and hikers climbed Mount Mansfield in support of mentoring at the 4th Annual Fleischer Jacobs Group Race to the Top of Vermont. The Everybody Wins! Vermont mentoring team (pictured above) raised more than $3,000 for their literacy-based mentoring programs at local elementary schools! 

Altogether, Mobius and mentoring partners Everybody Wins! and Mercy Connections teamed up to raise more than $16,000 for the local mentoring community!   

Despite a last minute change to the race date due to Hurricane Irene, mentoring supporters rallied to surpass last year's fundraising totals and champion the mentoring cause. A special thanks to our hosts from the Catamount Trail Association, and all of the racers, supporters and volunteers who helped make the race a successful event!

To learn more about the race, please visit the event page on the Mobius website.

  Lake Monsters Mentoring Night  (August 17)  

  You're the Friend a Child is Looking For!
  New Mentoring Programs in Essex and South Burlington 

New Opportunities for Mentor Pairs!
2011-2012 Mobius Mentor Discount Card 

Mobius is proud to announce the launch of its 2011-2012 Mentor Discount Card! Throughout the year, Mobius partners with local businesses and organizations to offer discounted prices on activities for approximately 500 community-based mentor pairs in Chittenden County.  

Thanks to our 27 returning sponsors!  

American Flatbread, Ben and Jerry's, Boloco, Penny Cluse Café, Sneaker's Bistro, Zachary's Pizza, Boutilier's Art Center, Burlington City Arts Clay Studio, ECHO/Leahy Science Center, UVM Fleming Museum, Shelburne Farms, Bike Recycle, Bolton Valley Resort, Cairns Arena, Lake Champlain Community Sailing Center, Leddy Arena, Local Motion, Petra Cliffs, Pizza Putt, Smuggler's Notch, Spare Time, UVM Athletics, Champlain College Theatre, Essex Outlets Cinema, Palace 9 Cinema, UVM Royall Tyler Theatre, Waterfront Video.

And a warm welcome to our 15 new sponsors!

Burlington Bagel Bakery, Chubby Muffin, Miguel's On Main, My Little Cupcake, Rocky's Pizza (Williston), Skinny Pancake, Winooski Falls Market & Deli, Aikido of the Champlain Valley, Bead Crazy, Shelburne Arts Center, Cynthea's Spa, Sports and Fitness Edge, Talent Skateboard, St. Michael's Playhouse, St. Michael's Student Theatre.                 

For more information about this year's discounts and our sponsors, please visit the Mobius Card web page.  

  Mentor Profile   

Name: Erin Sepic     

Program:     

Spectrum Mentoring   

Town: Richmond

 
Place of Employment:   
Synergic Health

Age of Mentee: 21

  
Referred by Mobius in:
August 2010 

     5
Has Been a Mentor Since:
May 2011 

Favorite Activities:  "Mostly meeting and talking, at this point in our young relationship. We often meet for tea, or a lunch. We also meet for productive time, to do work in quiet spaces, and have lots of plans to go bike riding,
hiking, and go to the gym together. We are both very motivated to DO things, and we both enjoy reading, writing, and talking about philosophy."

Favorite Thing About Mentoring:  "I have enjoyed the opportunity to cultivate a mutually fulfilling relationship with another person, and share what I've learned in my life so far. My mentee tells me that she is grateful to have an older friend who has been through similar life experiences, and yet has "come out on top." Mentoring is an amazing way to give back to our society, and is SO doable, regardless of how crazy your schedule is. I think we all have so much to teach each other, and though the mentoring relationship is based on the guidance/shared perspective of the mentor for the mentee, I believe the learning goes both ways for sure!"

 New Mobius Board Members   

Last month we heard from new board members Arline Duffy and Helen Riehle. This month we asked our new Board President Bill West, and our other two new board members, Julie Cole and Jami Rivers, to share their thoughts on their new positions with the Mobius Board of Directors:    

"I am very excited to lead the efforts of Mobius to promote a culture of mentoring in our community. I look forward to working with our partner mentoring agencies to recruit and match mentors for the hundreds of children in our area that would benefit from a mentoring experience. It takes just an hour a week to make a difference in a young person's life.  It's easy and rewarding - all you have to do is simply be a friend."

-Mobius Board President William West 

retired CIO and Vice President, NBC division of General Electric, and Spectrum mentor 

"Based on personal experiences, I am very aware of the need and importance of mentoring, especially for teens. I had an informal mentor in high school, and I will always remember his unwavering support, and I feel lucky that someone was willing to go out on a limb for me." 

-Julie G. Cole 

Project Coordinator of Community Health Improvement at Fletcher Allen Health Care

"I've had several positive board experiences in the past, and have the time to devote to board and organization activities. I also see the value and importance of mentoring programs and can be an advocate for mentoring in the community."  

-Jami L. Rivers

Vice President at People's United Bank in Burlington, and future mentor   

For more information, please visit the Board of Directors page on the Mobius website.