Facilitator vs. Mentor

 

A FACILITATOR is a Boys to Men staff member who is primarily responsible for ensuring that every group meeting is a positive and safe environment for the boys and mentors. Facilitators are also mandated reporters and work directly with each school's administrative staff to make sure that we are positively supporting each boy's academic and behavioral journey as well. Facilitators are trained to keep group meetings on topic and provide feedback to mentors on ways to be most effective in group meetings. Facilitators also take attendance and consult with boy parents, grandparents, and guardians when necessary.

 

A MENTOR is a man from the Vancouver community who expressed an interest in volunteering with Boys to Men and has gone through an extensive interview process which includes a background check, LIVESCAN, and ongoing mentor training. Mentors who attend our weekly groups often times skip their work lunch hour or take time off to participate. Mentors can be any man over the age of 18 but are typically 35 or older.

 

In-School Mentoring

 

Our largest program, the in-school group mentoring, allows us to work directly with boys on a weekly basis throughout the academic year. By partnering with various school partners around Vancouver, WA, school administrators help us identify boys who are at-risk of educational failure, dropping out of school, juvenile delinquency, or engaging in gangs. Additionally, Boys to Men groups are open to all boys so we also have boys from a variety of socioeconomic backgrounds making our group circles diverse and dynamic.

 

In addition, 40% of our current program participants are fatherless, and over 95% are on free or reduced lunch.

 

Our community mentoring approach is drawing high praise from school principals, administrators and teachers for its documented ability to improve the academic performance, attendance, and attitude as well as reduce disciplinary issues, expulsion, and dropout rates of their most at-risk boys. School records show boys who participated for one school year improved their GPA by an average of 27% and their discipline incidents declined by 85%.

 

We utilize multiple methods to evaluate our impact including surveys, GPA and behavioral data, attendance, testimonials, and case studies in partnership with local universities.

 

Open Community Mentoring

 

To provide our services to boys not attending school at one of our partner locations, we hold biweekly evening meetings that are open to all Vancouver boys interested in attending.

 

The Open Community Group follows the same meeting structure as our in-school groups; however, this group is typically comprised of high school boys as well as alumni program participants. Because of this, the group tends to discuss more mature topics.

 

We also utilize the Open Community Group to train new volunteer mentors because the groups tend to run smoother since the boys are more experienced with the structure of our meetings. In addition, all Journeymen, both present and alumni, are invited to attend these meetings keeping all of our Boys to Men community connected no matter where they are in life.

 

Parents and guardians interested in their young man attending these groups are encouraged to call us (360.606.2153) to speak directly to a staff member to determine if the Open Community Group will be a good fit.