Winning Futures – Inspiring and preparing youth to succeed through mentoring.

Honor your mentor…post his/her name or a story!

When a student shares emotional or confidential information with you, keep the following in mind: 

Positive role models are important.  They are the individuals who set examples for individuals to observe and pattern positive behaviors from.  As people increase positive behaviors, they increase their feelings of self-worth.  Patterning behaviors from positive role models can help mentees build on their morals and positive values.  These patterns teach the mentees to set attainable goals and provide direction in achieving those goals. 

Having students create a coat of arms gives them the opportunity to describe qualities about themselves and to learn more about other group members.  Mentors should encourage the participants to use colors and writing styles that represent their personalities.

Did you have a mentor in your life?

The school tour activity is used in the Winning Futures classroom to make the mentors comfortable at the school and to have the mentoring teams get to know each other. It is a simple activity with a list of seven to 10 locations for each mentoring match to visit throughout the school.

Credit cards may seem like an easy solution to not having money for what you want.  Teaching students the reality of credit cards can help them be financially successful in years to come.  Below is a lesson used in the Winning Futures classroom to bring reality to getting into debt!

A mentor doesn’t pave the way or help you choose a direction, they guide in picking the bricks and expanding your imagination.

In all aspects of life, we have to be able to work with people around us. A great way to develop team work and get to know your teammates is by using games to create a fun and open forum. In the Winning Futures classroom, teams play a modified version of the game Jenga. Teams are asked to set a goal as to how high they want to build their tower. If the tower falls over, they just start again!  But of course the purpose of this game is not just to work together, but to get to know one another. Winning Futures uses a modified version by using AveryLabels8167 to print questions on and place over the game pieces!

With the 2011-2012 school year off to a great start at Winning Futures, we welcome new mentors to our program!

To help students realize the importance of continuing education, try providing them with the information below.

Winning Futures didn’t just change my life, it saved it. I went from the brink of dropping out to being all year Honor Roll my senior year.  After high school I used the tools and techniques that I was given by the program to not just secure employment, but to thrive in my position. Now I work in New Business Development for an international industrial supplier with strong viable aspirations for the future. I would not have been to get this far in life had it not been for the support of Winning Futures!

Sometimes in a classroom time is limited.  But introductions should not be compromised due to the lack of time.  A quick and fun for the mentors and mentees to become familiar with all the adult  volunteers and for the mentees to become acquainted with their own mentors is to do “Mentor Speed Meetings”

Sometimes our greatest struggles in mentoring can turn into our greatest success stories.

A great way to support students in career exploration is to show an interest!  A resourse used at Winning Futures to help students compare and learn more about their career interests is The Occupational Outlook Handbook website – http://www.bls.gov/oco/.

A special thank you goes out to www.IwearYourShirt.com for adopting Winning Futures today!  They are doing an entire social media campaign about our workbooks for teens!  Check out some of the creative videos on their website.  Here are a few direct links:

In the Winning Futures classroom, it is proven time and time again how much one hour a week can impact a student.

Not only did my Winning Futures mentor teach me numerous skills for my future and how to efficiently function in the workplace, he also taught me the most important life lesson; you’re only as happy in life as you allow yourself to be.

As much as I gave to my mentees through mentoring, I received even more.  When you know you have people who look up to you, you hold yourself to a higher standard.  It has always been my belief that a person should lead by example, and the more I encouraged my students to take responsibility for their work, strengthen their relationships with family and friends, and give back to the community, the more I found myself improving those areas in my life as well.  The more I listened to them and their concerns, the better listener I became to everyone else around me.  As I watched them pursuing their goals with more passion each week, the more passionately I pursued my own.

Developing a positive attitude does not mean that you will never experience disappointment.  Having a good attitude helps turn your problems into lessons so you can learn and grow from them.

Before students can start working on a plan for their futures, they first need to evaluate where they are today.  All of us have both positive and negative assets.  To help improve the negative assets, it is important to first recognize what they are.  This can be done through a self-assessment.  Some example questions students can answer during a self-assessment are:

Sometimes mentoring a student can be just as rewarding for the mentor as it is for the mentee. 

In the world of work, we are often called upon to give a “30-second elevator pitch”.  This can be a pretty intimidating and uncomfortable for an adult, let alone a teen.  Few people enjoy selling themselves in this way, but it is an important skill/tool to have!  Winning Futures mentors work with students to help them perfect a 30-second interview pitch.  

With the help of mentors, Winning Futures talks to students about the importance of community service and how it helps others as well as the benefits for the individual providing the service (college admittance, resume building, leadership skills, etc.). Teams are required to complete a community service project to benefit a group in society.

Winning Futures encourages its students and mentors to write letters and emails to each other. This helps with bonding and open communication. We teach students about professional communication and the importance of thank you letters and words of appreciation. This communication with an adult can help students prepare for the professional world of work.

Detroit Mayor Dave Bing, came to our Greg Kelser – Winning Futures basketball camp today.  At the camp, Greg Kelser of the Detroit Pistons and his amazing team of coaches work with students 75% of the day on basketball.  Then, 25% of the day, students particiapte in the Winning Futures mentoring and goal-setting class to prepare them for ninth grade.

Having guest speakers in a classroom can be a powerful experience for students.  It lets them see that successful adults have their own stories about how they overcome obstacles and struggles in their lives to help get them to where they are today.  Winning Futures welcomed Dennis Liegghio, Founder of KnowResolve, to speak to students in the program about how important relationship goals have been in his life.

Gregory Kelser has partnered with Winning Futures to help teach students at his basketball camp, not only the fundamentals of basketball, but how goal setting and education can help in the game of life. The Gregory Kelser Basketball Camp is designed to be instructive, interactive, motivational, and FUN! He will also include daily messages emphasizing how extremely important the role education has been in his life and will challenge each child to pursue education with the same determination and energy used for sports.

Thank you Winning Futures mentors for another successful year!

Sharing with students the significance of developing positive support teams/networks and the importance of having a strong, positive relationship with one’s self is a great lesson.  With the help of mentors, Winning Futures teaches students how relationship goals play a key role in the accomplishment of all of goals including their education and career .  When students set relationship goals they are helping to build strong networks and support teams.  These goals can help them improve relationships with family, teachers, and friends, as well as help in preparing for future relationships in the world of work and beyond.

A great way to engage students in the world of work is to take them on hands-on company tours. This allows students to see firsthand how a company is run, each person’s responsibility and role within a company, and how those jobs work together to form the whole.

Winning Futures’ CEO, Kristina Marshall, received the Women Officials’ Network “Wonder Woman Award” for being a distinguished advocate for youth. The Women Official’s Network is an organization of elected officials, present and past, to promote women leaders in the public sector.  Past winners include Justice Maura Corrigan of the Michigan Supreme Court, Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy, and State of Michigan School Board Member Elizabeth Bauer.

Teaching students to go into an interview informed can set them above the competition. Winning Futures has a great track-record for preparing students to succeed.  When talking to students about going on interviews, it is helpful to lett them know about the five mistakes that inexperienced interviewees commonly make without realizing how devastating they can be to their chances of landing the job

Teens ofter question what is appropriate to wear to a job interview without feeling too dressed up or too underdressed.  At Winning Futures students are taught that when interviewing for a teen non-professional job, dress is a little different from applying for a full-time professional position. Dress should be, at the least, neat and tidy. Business casual is usually appropriate.

At Winning Futures, we have secured $5,000 in private funds to be able to offer our life skills and goal-setting workbooks, handbooks, and training program to organizations focusing on youth development (mentoring programs, schools, and churches). Agencies interested in implementing our evidence-based curriculum into their program just need to fill out a very SHORT application on our website www.WinningFuturesBooks.org.

When one of my shyer mentees asked if she could help decorate my positive affirmations mirror I was overjoyed. All the other girls had left and then she scooted up next to me and we praised the beautiful job she’d done. Working together on something creative made her open up. She said she’d not signed up for the mentoring program but that one of her teachers must have placed her in it. “You know, I’ve never had a mentor before,” she said “but I’m really happy you’re my mentor!” I told her that I was so happy to be there for her and be her mentor; I was so proud of her for telling me just how she felt.

For most people the thought of going on a job interview is not a pleasant one.  For students it can be even worse causing a lot of uneasiness and anxiety.  Helping them to become prepared and knowing what to expect can help them to relax and gain confidence.

Winning Futures works with high school students to help them prepare for job interviews. This is done in a series of sessions to allow the students time to learn the techniques and practice them with their career coach/mentor. The first interview stage (that should not be over looked) is getting ready.

As a Winning Futures Job Coach at Fitzgerald High School, I was able to see first hand how the program benefited the students. The sessions were excellent and I enjoyed training the students. I believe it helped a lot of them accomplish their work goals. After going over interviewing procedures and role playing interviewing sessions, a few landed jobs!

To help create synergy within a team, Winning Futures asks students and mentors to work together to develop a team sign at their first meeting. On the sign, teams will have their team name, logo, slogan as well as all the group members names.  Teams are encouraged to be creative and have fun with it. This brainstorming process is a great team building exercise and helps both the mentors and students to learn about one and other.

Last week, I spoke at the National “Youth At-Risk conference through Georgia Southern University.  Educators and youth serving professionals, this is a conference to have on your list for 2012.  They had very innovative workshops with realistic activities and programs you can immediately implement.  My workshop focused on creating and implementing mentoring programs for agencies who work with at-risk youth. http://ceps.georgiasouthern.edu/conted/nationalyouthatrisk.html

Winning Futures requires all mentors to write an introduction letter home to mentees’ parents. These letters give parents self assurance that their child is in good hands and lets them know who they will be spending time with. This is also a great way to introduce the mentoring program and create discussion at home about what is happening at school.

Becoming a Winning Futures mentor was a new experience for me. I was very excited to be involved but a little nervous to meet my mentees.

Winning Futures addresses Manufacturing Your “Workplace” Attitude a.k.a. building a positive reputation at school and work.

Anna Prodin, Community High Mentor, was honored at an intimate award ceremony by The Metro Detroit Mentor Council for National Mentoring Month at the Palace of Auburn Hills.  She was one of nine award recipients.  Chris Edwards, WXYZ Channel 7 Meteorologist, and Amber Troupe, Mentor Michigan Director, presented her the award.

Our Harper Woods partner program recently took a College tour. The goal was to expose students to the benefits of continuing education and to get students excited about their future education and career goals. This trip, for many of the students, was their first time on a college campus and I think our goal was accomplished!

VISION is the first official Winning Futures principle that is facilitated in the strategic planning process to students!  When they begin the process of strategic five-year planning, mentors guide them on why visioning comes first.  

First Lady Michelle Obama speaking at the 2011 National Mentoring Summit

Yesterday I attended the National Mentoring Summit at the Library of Congress in Washington DC. Michelle Obama spoke and issued a challenge to companies to get involved by donating and having employees get time off during the day to mentor.

Winter can be lonely for some teens, especially those who are coping with family issues, a recent loss of a loved one, and whose families are experiencing economic hardship. Something as little as receiving positive encouragement in the mail from someone who cares about them can help build a mentoring relationship.

Winning Futures Mentee with Mentor

Ever since I joined the Winning Futures Program, I have learned better values and how to be a better me.  More and more students these days are misguided and need someone to help guide them when their parents are not there all the time.  They are not pushed to their full potential or there is something holding them back, like family problems.

During January 2011 we celebrate the everyday, ordinary people who are making a difference for kids…Mentors!

Recruiting male mentors is one of the biggest challenges programs report. The majority of mentors have always been female while the majority of youth in need of a mentor have been male. Programs have learned that traditional recruitment techniques do not seem to motivate the male audience to become mentors. In order for children to have stable mentors in their lives the methods for recruiting men must change. Mentor Michigan has developed free resources for programs to use!

In our Winning Futures mentoring program, all of our mentees complete a profile sheet that we use to match them with mentors and to provide to the mentor so they get to know the student better.  This focuses more on their interests versus a case file.  It has the fun things mentors and mentees can use to build a relationship.

Teachers, mentors, youth serving professionals…do you wish your students would participate more in class? Here is a suggestion that has worked in Winning Futures for 16 years!

Here is a great article on MSN written by Dewey Sadka, Career Expert. This could be a great activity to do with students and mentees. It has them select the color they like the least and then analyzes how they should select and prepare for a career!

Paul, service manager at Hamilton Chevrolet, shows mentees a piece of equipment he uses.

When mentors and mentees first meet, things can be awkward.  To help with that, have the mentors bring in a prop that represents their job.

At the beginning of the school year, set your students up for success.  This will help them kick-off their school year with confidence that they can be successful this year.

This week, our alternative high school students had the wonderful opportunity to meet Liz Murray and hear her inspiring story of growing up homeless in the Bronx.  At 17 while still homeless, Liz went back to high school, graduated by 19, and earned her degree from Harvard.  Lifetime made a movie about her life, “Homeless to Harvard“.  Liz released her book “Breaking Night” this month, which just made the New York Times Best Sellers List!  Her book can be purchased on online at Amazon.com - click here.

Youth organizations – What type of programming and activities do you do with youth?

This month, we are hosted our annual Inspiring Hope breakfast to recruit mentors, one-time volunteers, board members, and donors.  We have board members and other community members be “Table Captains” to bring nine people with them who are not currently involved in Winning Futures.  The goal is to introduce the guests to who we are, what we do, and the impact we make.  This event is free for guests (we negotiate a plated breakfast for $10 each and solicit businesses to make $500 donations to cover the cost).

If you received $5,000 of funds to use on your students/mentees, what would you spend it on?

Mentor and mentees having fun at our Bowl for Kids event!

For the first time in the 16 years we have been facilitating mentoring and goal setting programs for students, we had a bowling outing for our mentoring teams.  Words cannot express how awesome it was!  Some of high school students had never bowled before so watching their expressions and excitement was priceless:-)

This week was AMAZING!! We awarded $20,000 in scholarships to mentees in the Winning Futures Mentoring Program.  This will support our students in pursuing their education past high school.  It always amazes me every year to see the tremendous changes our mentees make with the support of their mentors and our team.  These students are shining examples for all of us no matter who we are:)

Display the "Values Poster" to create a positive environment!

Have students create a “Values Poster” to better understand the values they want to have.  The purpose of this activity is to get individuals to start realizing what is important to them.  Having a sense of individual values helps to facilitate the goal-setting process in all areas of life.

What is the number one topic/issue your students need support with?

We found a great article at http://zenhabits.net/2010/03/300-word-positivity/ that our mentors use with our mentees in Winning Futures. When building positive relationships, we first have students focus on being a more positive person.

In honor of National Volunteer Week, we would love to hear your favorite volunteer story. Thank you to everyone who volunteers! Our Winning Futures mentors change the lives of hundreds of students a year – they are true heroes!

Mentees rotate to different career coaches to be critiqued on their networking pitch.

Often we are afraid to tell teens the truth about the skills they need to improve when preparing for their job search because we do not want to hurt their feelings. When you have mentors or business coaches working with them, there are a few simple things you can do to have this be a powerful process.

Life Skills and Goal Setting Tip of the Week
This week in one of our programs, teens were on track to set a five year educational/career goal. However, we found that first it is best for students to take a serious look at their obstacles before they set their goals. That way, they can work their road blocks right into their plan.

After 16 years of successfully creating and implementing our Achieving Success and Road to Success workbooks for our students, we are ready to share them with the world! Over the years, our teachers and mentors wanted more skill building activities for our students so we began to develop workbooks based on character value development, goal setting, career exploration, strategic planning, and job readiness skills. We now have other schools and non-profits in 16 states piloting the materials in their programs! Watch our blog for tips on life skills and goal setting activities for your youth. Learn about our books at www.WinningFuturesBooks.org or see our programs at www.WinningFutures.org.