This month Rik offered up a challenge to choose a project and make it express a dream.  Pairs from the Dream Program and Spectrum took advantage of this terrific opportunity to be creative.  Busy hands smoothed clay, joined pieces (carefully ‘scoring’ and wetting the edges to make them stay together).  They etched textures and designs, and some etched their names.  They painted color ‘slips’ on the plates, mugs, and objets d’art.

Spectrum mentee, Muna, made this monkey face, a gift for a special friend.

One made a mug big enough to drink soup from.  The dream theme may have gotten a bit lost, but the enthusiasm for being creative and making something was in full force.

The next Dinner and Art is Monday, March 19.  If you haven’t participated, try it next month.  The projects are always fun.  Rik is a wonderful teacher (with the patience of a saint).  It is a great activity for mentor and mentee.  Are you up for it?

King Street Mentor Sarah Soule with mentee Makayla. Photo by Annie Pruitt, courtesy of VPR.

Over the past few weeks, mentoring has been featured on nine commercial radio station talk shows, hosted by Charlie and Ernie, Ginny McGehee, Nolan and Tara, and  Rich Haskell.  Vermont Public Radio did a segment on Vermont Edition featuring a mentor pair from the King Street Center, and ran a beautiful commentary on mentoring by Marybeth Redmond.

King Street mentee Makayla with VPR intern Annie Pruitt. Photo by Julie Thompson, courtesy of King Street Center.

WCAX TV’s Kristin Carlson invited Andrea and Chief Schirling to talk about National Mentoring Month on The :30.

The newspapers have been great, too!  The Burlington Freepress talked to Chief Schirling about being the spokesperson for Nation Mentoring Month.   They featured a mentor each week in January as Volunteer of the Week, and they ran a My Turn by Andrea encouraging readers to become mentors.  The Other Paper ran an article about South Burlington resident and King Street mentor Sarah Thyng, who was recognized at the Breakfast, as well as an article about the new South Burlington School mentoring program.  The Williston Observer ran a lovely Letter to the Editor from Nancy Carlson, the Mentoring Coodinator for Connecting Youth at Williston Central School.   The Colchester Sun interviewed MOVE (St. Michael’s college) mentor Michaela Burns, who was recognized at the Breakfast, and ran an article about the event.  The Essex Reporter, the Shelburne News, the Charlotte Citizen and Seven Days ran articles and/or listed National Mentoring Month events in their calendars.

With all this great press, aren’t you ready to become a mentor?  We are ready for you.  Joinus@mobiusmentors.org.

Senator Patrick Leahy with Mentors from the MOVE mentoring program at St. Michael's College. Photo courtesy of Shayne Lynn Photography

There is nothing like a room full of mentors to warm up a cold Vermont morning.  And warm it was, warm and very moving!   It was great to see so many people who share a serious passion for mentoring together, sharing stories about their mentees.  Mentors sat together with other mentors from their programs, and for some it was the only chance to be together as a group all year.

Outstanding Mentors. Photo courtesy of Shayne Lynn Photography.

Each program coordinator presented the Outstanding Mentor nominated for their program.  A match from the Dream Program spoke with eloquence and humor about their special bond, and about the personal growth each experienced as a result of their time together.

The 170 or so guests sat in eager anticipation of National Mentoring Month Spokesperson, Burlington Police Chief Michael Schirling.  But eyes lit up, and there were even a few gasps of delight when Mobius Executive Direction Andrea Torello announced that we had a special guest.  Senator Patrick Leahy, a long-time champion for mentoring in Vermont, entered the ballroom to a spontaneous standing ovation.  He went to the podium and thanked the mentors for their time and efforts.  “You make a real difference in the lives of those you help,” he said.  Senator Leahy is responsible for bringing a considerable amount of federal funding into Vermont for mentoring.

BPD Chief Michael Schirling. Photo courtesy of Shayne Lynn Photography

Chief Schirling was a good sport about following Senator Leahy.  He passionately “preached to the choir,” as he put it.  He reminded mentors that their positive influence mentors have ripples out into the community.  “There is no better way to help solve, or ultimately prevent, our community’s problems, many of them repeating generation after generation – repetitive health care needs, substance abuse, educational needs, or criminal justice interventions, than to change the course of a child’s life.”

The annual National Mentoring Month breakfast to honor mentors is always an uplifting event.  This year,  it was extraordinary –  thanks to the program coordinators, Dream mentor Molly Mulcahy and her mentee, Noah, Chief Michael Schirling, and Senator Patick Leahy.

King Street's Gabriella Tufo Strouse with Hibo. Shayne Lynn Photography

Photo by Michael GW Stein.

A nod of the head, a flick of the wrist, a breath – for a piano quintet those gestures communicate.  They signal more than tempo and “let’s begin.”  They confirm a unified effort, an agreed upon interpretation of the music being played.  A fine chamber music performance reaches the highest levels of human collaboration.  The result is transcendental.

As I listened to the excellent performance by the Burlington Ensemble at their 90/10 Series concert featuring Mobius, I thought about how collaboration has brought mentoring to so many young people in our community.  The result is transforming for the mentees, but also for the mentors.

Vermont Suzuki Violins. Photo by Michael GW Stein.

The turnout for the concert was exceptional for an evening of treacherous driving conditions.  The concert, titled “Mentors” appropriately featured music of Robert Schumann and the young composer who sought him out to be a teacher and mentor, Johannes Brahms.   Two of the most beloved piano quintets in the repertoire, along with the wonderful acoustics of College Street Congregational Church enticed music lovers to brave the elements.   The intrepid concert goers and supporters of mentoring were rewarded with top notch performances of both pieces.  An added treat was a very nice performance by some young players from the Vermont Suzuki Violins to open the second half.

The concert itself, part of BE’s 90/10 series,  is the result of a collaboration between the Burlington Ensemble, the College Street Congregational Church,  and six non-profits including Mobius, as well as several  corporate sponsors.  With Mobius as the featured organization for this concert,  Mobius Executive Director Andrea Torello took the opportunity to let the audience know about the music we make at Mobius – ringing the “New Mentor” bell every time someone new is recruited.

Andrea Torello invited audience members to become mentors. Photo by Michael GW Stein.

The Burlington Ensemble is made up of local violinists Michael Dabroski and Sophia Hirsch, and friends.  For this concert the other members of the ensemble were local violist Elizabeth Reid, and cellist Benjamin Elton Capps and pianist David  Kaplan (both of whom came from New York to play the concert).  They make music with a mission to  make a difference in the community. They take their highly refined artistic collaboration and turn it into contributions to the partner six non-profits.

The mentoring successes in our community are the result of collaborations between mentoring programs, Mobius, funders, school systems, guidance counselors, mentor program coordinators, local businesses, and hundreds – many hundreds of volunteers.  When Mobius and the excellent mentoring programs in our community work together along with volunteer mentors , we create a culture of mentoring.  It is a collaboration that takes our community to a higher level by changing lives, one at a time, an hour a week.

You might wonder why the goal is doubled from 2011?  Quite honestly, it has to be done because the need is so great.  We think that goal is possible because, in addition to the wonderful continuing support of our volunteers, our board, our donors, and our partners, two grants are making it possible to significantly enhance our recruitment efforts.

Last year Spike Advertising selected Mobius as the recipient of their “Advertising Gone Good” grant, and the geniuses at Spike continue to develop a campaign to help us reach potential mentors.  And recently Mobius received a grant from Jane’s Trust that will provide resources to implement the new campaign.

The entire staff of Mobius is excited about the challenging work ahead.  The result will be more young people with mentors, and a stronger, safer, and healthier community.

Are you ready to become a mentor?

Photo by Josh Larkin, Courtesy of VTDigger.org

At the Mobius office we literally ring a bell when really good things happen.  Usually it is the recruitment of another new mentor, but when Chief Michael Schirling said yes to becoming the National Mentoring Month Spokesperson for Mobius, we rang the bell a good long time.  We asked the Chief to be our Spokesperson because he is such an articulate advocate for mentoring.  He is a leader with a vision for a healthy, safe community, and he sees mentoring as one of the tools to get there.

Actually, we rang the bell for the Chief and the Burlington Police Department early in the year, too, when we learned that  Chief  Schirling wanted police officers and staff to become mentors.  The initiative came out of a BPD strategic plan that included bolstering  their involvement with local youth.  Chief Schirling says that young people are surrounded by distractions and pitfalls.  “Mentoring is an important component of limiting those distractions and creating positive role model scenarios and changing the thought process for kids… whether it is limiting the distractions, or getting kids to focus on important things like education, and being safe and having safe relationships.”

Mobius entered into a partnership with the BPD, and held a special training at police headquarters for those interested in becoming mentors.  And now there are BPD officers and staff volunteering as mentors at the Boys and Girls Club, and in the school-based mentoring program Everybody Wins VT!

As National Mentoring Month Spokesperson, Chief Schirling will be the keynote speaker at the Thank Your Mentor breakfast January 18th at the Burlington Hilton, and he will help Mobius with public awareness efforts during the month.

New Mentor Bell

Mobius has a full month of events planned to celebrate National Mentoring Month, including a concert by the Burlington Ensemble (part of their 90/10 series) on January 7,  a Benefit at American Flatbread on January 10, sleighrides at Shelburne Farms on the 14th, and the overwhelmingly popular annual Bowling Party at Spare Time in Colchester on the 28th.

Diane Gottlieb, Ph.D., M.S.W., and Linda Wackerman M.S.W.

The greatest challenges to mentors include difficult discussions with mentees – about bullying, about sex and sexuality, about dealing with trauma.  It was only natural for Mobius to address those difficult conversations as a part of the Mentor Support Series.  Dr. Diane Gottlieb and her colleague Linda Wackerman offered great counsel for a group of mentors that gathered at Heritage Aviation for the program.

“Talking with Your Mentee: Tools for Difficult Conversations,” was the title of the presentation, which included on-line video vignettes, and a really helpful discussion that included a great deal of interaction on the part of the mentors in attendance.

“It was powerful for me,” said Spectrum mentor Esther Lotz. “I know now that it is helpful for [my mentee] to tell her story, to encourage her to talk about it so that she will feel like less of a victim.” Previous Mentor Support Series topics included substance abuse.  Upcoming programs will address cultural diversity and socio-economic differences.

What conversations do you find difficult to have with your mentee?  What topics would you like Mobius to offer in upcoming Mentor Support meetings?

My point is, this is how easily we can all participate in creating a culture of mentoring in our community.  All it takes is for you to recommend another person to become a mentor.  Bingo! Two people, connected, growing the mentoring movement. Most importantly, one more child is having fun with the mentor he/she has been waiting for.

Our goal for 2011 was to recruit 150 new mentors.  We are at 148d.  We have 16 days left to find 2 more mentors.  Please help us.  All we need is for you to send Marissa, our Director of Recruitment, the name of one fun loving person who wants to share one hour, once a week in the company of a deserving child. Become part of the continuous loop of mentoring – call us today.  658-1888 or joinus@mobiusmentors.org.

Best,

Andrea L. Torello, Executive Director of Mobius