We’re happy to have Derek Shields as a guest writer on our blog. Derek is the director of the National Disability Mentoring Coalition; an organization that aims to raise awareness about the importance and impact of mentoring in the lives of people with disabilities, as well as increase the quality and number of mentoring programs across the country. NDMC is an initiative of us here at PYD. Their work focuses on awareness by highlighting the role of mentoring in the lives of people with disabilities, making connections by facilitating communication, providing resources, facilitating mentorship opportunities for people of diverse backgrounds, and recognizing important individuals who make a difference in the world of mentorship.
- Sign Up for the Chronicle for Evidence-Based Mentoring
The Chronicle translates research into practice recommendations and is an important forum for researchers, practitioners, policy-makers, and volunteers. Since its launch, the Chronicle has attracted over a million views from its tens of thousands of monthly visitors and nearly 8,000 subscribers. The site features an impressive editorial board and an ever-changing array of research summaries, profiles, etc.
- Discover MENTOR: The National Mentoring Partnership
MENTOR: The National Mentoring Partnership’s (MENTOR) mission is to fuel the quality and quantity of mentoring relationships for America’s young people and to close the mentoring gap for the one in three young people growing up without this critical support. MENTOR is the unifying champion for expanding quality youth mentoring relationships in the United States. For more than 25 years, MENTOR has served the mentoring field by providing a public voice; developing and delivering resources to mentoring programs nationwide; and promoting quality for mentoring through evidence-based standards, innovative research and essential tools. MENTOR has developed and supports a national collective of Affiliates that provide regional, state and local leadership and infrastructure necessary to support the expansion of quality mentoring relationships.
- Sign up for MENTOR’s General Email List and Advocacy Email List
- Familiarize yourself with the Mentoring Connector, a free volunteer referral service and the only database of its kind designed to help quality youth mentoring programs across the US recruit volunteer mentors.
- Download and read the Elements of Effective Practice for Mentoring, MENTOR’s cornerstone publication of research-informed and practitioner-approved Standards for creating and sustaining quality youth mentoring programs and consequently, impactful mentoring relationships. There are also LGBTQ and STEM Supplements and a Toolkit for how to build a successful mentoring program.
- Participate in National Mentoring Month activities and attend the National Mentoring Summit
- Reach out to an Affiliate to create a local or regional partnership
- Visit the National Mentoring Resource Center’s Website
The National Mentoring Resource Center (NMRC) serves as a comprehensive and reliable resource for training and technical assistance at the local program level, while also providing mentoring tools, resources, and reviews of mentoring research and best practices. The resources and technical assistance provided are in alignment with current research in our field and the national standards for quality mentoring.
In 2013, the Department of Justice Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) selected MENTOR to establish a national training and technical assistance center focused solely on mentoring.
While visiting the site, review the Resources section, sign up for their Email List, check out the NMRC Blog, and review NMRC’s research findings article and paper entitled Mentoring for Youth with Disabilities. Check out the implications for practice section of the paper.
- Get NDMC Content
Start by adding your staff to the NDMC Distribution List to ensure they receive Meeting Requests, Webinar Announcements and NDMC’s Disability Mentoring News. Email dshields@forwardworks.net if you would like to add someone to the list. Also, if you are on social media platforms, follow NDMC on Twitter @Dismentors and/or join the NDMC LinkedIn Group.
- Participate in NDMC Programming through PYD’s Learn Platform
By joining NDMC, you receive a benefit of courses and Monthly Webinars on PYD’s Learn Platform. New training webinars are provided along with access to recorded courses. When you join NDMC, we’ll auto-enroll you in the Learn Platform and also share upcoming email announcements so you won’t miss the quality presenters and content. Visit PYD’s Learn Platform and ensure you access this benefit (join the NDMC Group within the platform).