Volunteering

Almost all mentors are volunteers. You know them. They live in your communities. They are your neighbors.

Mentors come in all shapes and sizes. Some work while others don't. Many of us are or have been parents, but certainly not all of us.

You don't need any special skills. You just need a willingness to be there on a consistent basis for a child. As a general guideline, most mentoring programs meet on a weekly basis. Normally mentors spend one to two hours a week with the children. School based programs normally follow the calendar year.

The Mentoring Partnership of Long Island currently works with approximately 200 individual mentoring programs across Long Island. We can match you with the program that's right for you.

Mentoring programs are sponsored by community organizations, faith based groups, corporate mentoring partners and, most importantly, our neighborhood schools. Some have an academic component, but the majority are friendship based. Almost all meet at a regular time each week in a supervised setting.

There is normally a trained program coordinator. You too will receive training and regular guidance and feedback from the program coordinator. Sometimes the hardest part is simply making that initial phone call. Please inquire about becoming a volunteer mentor by calling the Partnership at 631 761-7800 or by e-mailing us at info@mentorkids.org.