BRATTLEBORO — This fall, through the 2018-19 Vermont Mentoring Grants, MENTOR Vermont (formerly known as Mobius) has awarded 29 grants, totaling $310,300, to support adult-to-youth mentoring programs throughout the state.
This funding will support more than 100 new and existing program sites, and nearly 1,800 adult-to-youth mentor pairs in communities across Vermont.
According to a news release, MENTOR Vermont awarded two grants to agencies that support youth living in Windham County: a grant of $18,900 to Big Brothers Big Sisters of Vermont, which supports youth throughout the county through its Brattleboro office; and a grant of $1,900 to the Collaborative, to support its mentoring program at Flood Brook Elementary.
“Support from MENTOR Vermont plays an integral role in our ability to provide a high quality, safety-focused mentoring program for children and youth throughout Vermont,” said Kimberley Diemond, executive director of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Vermont. “We are fortunate to have such a dedicated partner.”
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Vermont also supports youth in Chittenden, Essex, and Orleans counties.
The Vermont Mentoring Grants are made possible each year through funding support from the A.D. Henderson Foundation, the Vermont Department for Children and Families, and the Permanent Fund for Vermont's Children. The 2018-2019 grants will provide continuing support for established programs that demonstrate they meet best practices and help plan and launch new programs in underserved regions of the state.
All 2018-2019 grantees have committed to being partners in the Vermont K-12 Mentoring Initiative, a multi-year project, spearheaded by MENTOR Vermont, to establish the statewide program infrastructure needed to allow youth the opportunity to be matched with a mentor from elementary school until they successfully enter adulthood.
Additionally, grantees beyond their first two years of operation are required to demonstrate that they are meeting best practices through the Quality Mentoring System (a program assessment system developed by MENTOR Vermont and MENTOR: The National Mentoring Partnership).
Grantees will also continue to use common questions from the Vermont Mentoring Surveys to survey their mentors and mentees, and track youth outcome data in the following key areas: resiliency; pro-social skills; future aspirations; connectedness to community; and program satisfaction.