
Ask HN: Starting a corporate youth mentoring program? - devisboring
I&#x27;m interested in starting a mentoring program on my companies dime. Think big brothers big sisters. Every kid should experience what it feels like to have a parent&#x2F;grandparent smile at them, and a lot of kids never receive that. I&#x27;m thinking something where I reach out to the local District Attorney, other local mentoring programs, etc and find at-risk youth with an interest in technology and have them join me on-site for a day. I&#x27;ve all the connections to make this happen but I&#x27;m looking for a general structure or similar programs to make this rewarding for everyone involved.<p>Has anyone had experience with such a program? Any ideas or past experiences that might help me flush out a few details before I start bugging everyone in my company?
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matt_the_bass
Are you looking for a 1 day “mentorship” or a continual program?

I’m guessing since your coming at this issue from a corporate position, maybe
helping them with skill towards employability may be helpful?

If 1 day, then consider some of these items to include in the schedule:

\- provide examples of possible career paths. meet other employees and learn
about what they do and education/training needed to get such a job

\- introduce them to basic company etiquette: how to dress/introduce
themselves when meeting an interviewer, what is appropriate language for a
business email, etc.

\- have them work with you to figure out/solve some simple, manageable
problem. It’s important to find a task that has a clear reason and can be
achieved within the short period of time. This could be anything from building
a rack of test computers to designing a widget.

\- ask them to design a team of people to make some sort of product they would
be interested in. Have them describe what types of people they would want to
have in the team and why they would want such people. This could be used to
demonstrate introspection, a valuable tool in self help/learning.

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brudgers
I've seen corporations successfully encourage employees to participate in Big
Brothers/Sisters. To me, this seems like a more efficient use of everyone's
time compared to reinventing the wheel considering all the steps involved in
overseeing a program that pairs adults with children who are not their own.

Good luck.

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devisboring
My company already has a program to encourage this. And I've experience
mentoring for such programs. In my experience there is a void to fill for
children who are about to exit the foster-care system, or transitioning into
legal adults.

I'm interested in targeting that void, and providing a working-mentorship
where I can educate on things like what a supportive manager, how to prepare
for an interview, look for jobs, etc.

Your comment is valid and I see no reason for them to let me re-invent the
wheel. But this is something I'm pursuing with or without their support.

