Our Mentor Program provides positive female role models and strong support structures to motivated teenage girls who are ready to explore who they are and discover their community at large. Girls attending SEED in 2010, ages 12 and older, are eligible to participate in our community-based Mentor Program. The program launched in 2001 as a means of providing teenage girls with year-round support networks during the challenging teenage years.

Selected professional women are carefully screened and then matched by our Mentor Program staff with the most compatible girls. The program is a year-long commitment between the mentor and mentee. Twice a month mentors and mentees participate in fun and enriching activities throughout the New York metropolitan area. Activities range from visiting museums to tasting a variety of ethnic foods or exploring new neighborhoods.

Engaging Group Events such as a Salsa dance lesson, volunteering at a Food Pantry, Hip Hop 4 Life's Defining Your Style Workshop or Twin/Game Night counts toward one outing for that month and gives all the matches an opportunity to enjoy each other's company while having fun!


Mentor Program Testimonials

"As a single parent...I worry that my children are not getting enough attention. This program has helped me with that by giving [my daughter] a positive influence in her life to help guide her through those important years." -Parent

"The gift of personal time is and probably always will be the most important thing I can give." -Mentor

"She is like a big sister to me and our outings are always fun." -Mentee

"It is a refreshing reminder of the power of friendship. I think seeing the world through [my mentee's] eyes stays with me way more often than I expected and I appreciate this new awareness and understanding of the current issues that face teens." -Mentor

"[My daughter] uses her mentor as a tool of inspiration to succeed as a business woman. Her mentor has helped her develop confidence communicating with adults." -Parent

"I learned to believe in myself." -Mentee

"Being a mentor is not only about teaching...it's also about learning." -Mentor

"[My daughter] is more outspoken, less shy and seems to be emotionally aware." -Parent

"I like the fact that having a mentor adds just another good person in your life, allowing you to talk to them as well as get to know them." -Mentee

Mentor Program Goals

• Increase girls' sense of self worth
• Improve girls' perspective toward education
• Help girls develop and define their short-term and long-term goals
• Encourage social awareness through community service projects
• Build positive relationships and support networks with adults and peers 
  

Goals Accomplished in 2010

• Nearly 80 matches served!
• Introduced on-line survey tool to enhance program evaluation.
• The first mentor program annual report was created.
• A new mentor committee was formed to continue aiding in planning mentor network events.  
• Hosted our first mentor program group picnic.
   

Accolades, Awards and Press Received by Girls Quest Mentor Program in the Past FiveYears

• Served as the alumni speaker at the Fall 2009/Spring 2010 and Spring 2007 Big Brothers Big Sisters Mentor Supervisor Certificate Program.  
• In February 2009, Girls Quest was awarded the Eleanor P. Eells Award for Program Excellence from the American Camp Association, a national body of 7,000 agency members.
• In December 2008, the Girls Quest Mentor Program was featured in media produced by a prominent partner in the youth development field: the Annual Report of Big Brothers/Big Sisters of NYC. 
• In 2008, Girls Quest joined The Mentoring Partnership of New York's (MPNY) Provider Council. The council is a selected group of seasoned mentoring professionals that work with MPNY in providing additional resource and assistance for partnering mentoring organziations.   
• In addition, a match from our Mentor Program was selected to address an overflow crowd at Marble Collegiate Church in March 2008 during their Easter fundraising season.
• In January 2008, Girls Quest received a 2008 Alumni Award from Big Brothers/Big Sisters of NYC for our Mentor Program, noting our "outstanding dedication to mentoring program development." We were one of only four out of 500 member agencies selected.
• A Capstone team of NYU graduate students determined in May 2007 that our Mentor Program exceeds several national best practices for mentoring programs and meets all others.
• In 2007, Girls Quest served on the panel for the volunteer forum, "Helping Hands, Helping Hearts: The Essentials of Volunteer Program" hosted by the Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies. 
• In January 2007, Girls Quest was selected from 400 applications as the first recipient of Snapple's "Best People in NYC" award, sponsored by the NYC Mayor's Volunteer Center. Only nominations from volunteers were accepted and we were nominated by a mentor in our Mentor Program. 
• In August 2006, ABC News' Juju Chang interviewed our Executive Director and a match from our Mentor Program in the online news program "Top Priority." Lifestyle network, LX-TV, interviewed another Mentor Program match in January 2007.

The Mentor Program has had a great impact on Girls Quest, and we expect those effects to continue and grow as we build on the program’s success and also use that success to strengthen our other programs.