You don't have to be perfect,
you just have to be there.
Interested in joining the Middle School Mentoring Program?
We accept applications all year!
Program Overview
Since 2012, United Way of Pueblo County’s Middle School Mentoring Program has been connecting positive and caring adults with middle schoolers in our community. Through weekly communication, mentors help mentees cultivate character and strength by fostering relationships centered on trust, hope, and growth.
The program focuses on engaging youth in an in-person setting, with occasional remote options. We work closely with Pueblo School District 60 and Pueblo County School District 70 to ensure the safety and well-being of both mentors and mentees.
Mission
To enrich the lives of Pueblo middle school students by providing opportunities to build relationships with caring adults who empower and encourage them through one-to-one mentoring.
Vision
That all Pueblo middle school students have access to supportive mentors who help them develop into confident, responsible, and positive members of our community.
Who are the MENTORS?
Think you have nothing to provide to help a youth in our community? Think again! All that is needed is a commitment to be there for one hour per week!
YOU can be a great mentor!
Our mentors are:
- At least 21 years of age
- Free of a criminal history/record
- Committed to a minimum of one school year and a maximum of three until student completes middle school
- Comfortable with technology
- Committed to weekly connections with a mentee, remotely or in-person at the school (primarily) or remotely (occasionally)
- Good listeners and attentive to the needs of the mentee
- Willing to learn and grow
- For a complete list of requirements, view the Mentor Volunteer Description document by clicking here.
Who are the MENTEES?
Mentees are middle school students who can thrive and be successful with a little extra help and support from an adult role model outside of the classroom setting.
Mentees are:
- Enrolled in participating middle schools in Pueblo School District 60 or Pueblo County School District 70
- Referred to program by school staff who collaborate with UWPC staff to make compatible mentor-mentee matches
All mentors go through a screening, training, and selection process that includes the following steps:
- Submit mentor application and references
- Attend interview with UWPC staff
- Complete background check and fingerprinting
- Attend school interview
- Attend 2-hr New Mentor Orientation
All mentors receive ongoing support and guidance from the UWPC staff, school staff, and school liaison.
At least two mentor development trainings are held during the year for ongoing education.
Up to two relationship building field trips are scheduled during the school year with an optional trip during the summer, as permitted by current health and safety guidelines.
The effect of a student having a mentor in their lives is seen in multiple aspects—many may be quantitative, such as the reduction in absenteeism and increased academic success, while other impacts may be qualititative as is the case in higher confidence levels and self-esteem, improved attitudes toward attending school, and effective decision making.
The United Way of Pueblo County Middle School Mentoring Program utilizes the following progress indicators:
- Attendance
- Academic achievement/grades
- Behavior
- Engagement
Over 75% of program participants have shown significant improvements in the progress indicator areas.
Mentors are positioned to frame the mindset of our younger generation and make a substantial impact on the course of diversity, equity, and inclusion in our community and our country. We suggest mentors take inventory of their knowledge and assess where personal learning gaps exist regarding race, ethnicity, and cultural norms. To that end, we provide equity resources and training opportunities for mentors while enrolled in the program.
MENTOR Colorado has an excellent list of resources that include virtual (and free!) instruction specific to mentoring, as well as many article and book recommendations that may be helpful to you: https://comentoring.org/racial-justice-resources/.
United Way of Pueblo County's Middle School Mentoring Program is committed to meeting quality standards for mentoring that are safe and effective. We strive to follow the nationally recognized best practices, known as the Elements of Effective Practice for Mentoring™ , 4th Edition, and established by MENTOR: The National Mentoring Partnership, to support quality youth mentoring relationships. To achieve these standards, The United Way of Pueblo County Middle School Mentoring Program has initiated the 2-step National Quality Mentoring System (NQMS) process, a national continuous quality improvement process for mentoring programs, by completing a quality self-assessment and review facilitated by MENTOR Colorado, and developing an innovation and improvement plan to promote continuous quality improvement and alignment with evidence-based practices for mentoring. Learn more about the NQMS process here.
Safety Screening required for all potential mentors:
• Criminal History & Child Abuse Registry • References
• Personal Interview • Training
United Way of Pueblo County is a proud member of the Pueblo Mentoring Collaborative
The overall purpose of the Pueblo Mentoring Collaborative is to build on current resources and address gaps in mentoring by building a community-wide system for communication and engaging, supporting and sustaining quality mentoring for Pueblo youth, young adults and families. PMC was established in October of 2013 and is sponsored by House Bill 1451. PMC collaborates with MENTOR Colorado, our statewide mentoring resource and support organization.
The Southern Colorado Youth Go (SoCoYoGo) online platform will address and decrease accessibility, affordability, and connectivity barriers youth have when participating in positive and healthy opportunities in Pueblo County by incentivizing youth to visit pro-social locations and earn rewards redeemable at local businesses. Our Vision is for all Pueblo County youth to have access to affordable positive and healthy opportunities and locations that will decrease the community’s rate of youth delinquency, substance use, and truancy. The SoCoYoGo Platform destroys the barriers to youth accessing local positive locations (cost, transportation), incentivizes youth - the more healthy locations youth visit, the more rewards they earn, and promotes an innovative use of technology. Free for all Pueblo County youth ages 13-18.
Sign up today at socoyogo.com to start earning your rewards!
The United Way Middle School Mentoring Program is partnering with the Y to help connect 6th grade mentees to the Y’s 6th grade free membership program. See the link below to learn more!
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FREE 6th Grade Membership: https://puebloymca.org/membership/free-membership-for-all-6th-graders
