Information about Mentoring
Resources
State Contacts
What is mentoring?
What would you do if you knew you couldn't fail?
- Eleanor Roosevelt
Mentoring is a committed, supportive, and encouraging long-term relationship between two participants. The older, more experienced individual (mentor) provides consistent support and guidance focused on developing the character and capabilities of the young person (mentee).
Become a mentor!
Mentor (n.): A wise and trusted guide and advisor.
Eligibility requirements for mentors
- Blind or low vision adult
- Willing to make a long-term commitment
- Desire to make a difference
- Positive, fun outlook on life
- Enthusiastic about enriching a young adult's life
How can being a mentor help me?
Through the mentoring relationship blind and low vision adults will offer their expertise, experience and ideas to young adults. This relationship will develop over time and increase a young adult's understanding of possibilities, promote a positive perspective and awareness, as well as an outlook on life.
We understand you may work full time, have a family at home and worry about the time commitments involved. We completely understand. However, we also hope that you will consider helping a young adult develop a positive view of blindness. When young adults learn good skills of blindness, and the importance of proper training, you, as a mentor, will receive great satisfaction. It is a gift worth giving and a gift worth receiving. You will be able to meet other blind and low vision adults and create a larger network support for yourself as well as others.
Give the gift of time and experience, and it will give you a rewarding relationship. As a result of the mentoring relationship, young adults will explore the endless opportunities available--once the right attitudes and skills have been mastered. Fun and exciting training activities are conducted in each state to facilitate these empowering opportunities. Currently we have mentoring programs in Georgia, Ohio, Texas, and Utah. Louisiana and Nebraska began their mentoring programs through our National Center for Mentoring Excellence. Our desire is to expand mentoring programs throughout the United States.
More than ninety blind and low vision young adults have learned firsthand from successful blind and low vision adults. Some topics that mentors discuss with their mentees are:
- The importance of independence travel
- How to prepare for a successful future
- Advocacy skills and relationship building
- Literature and freedom
- The pride of a securing a high-quality job
- Confidence
Mentor Application
The NCME mentoring program is in these states: Texas, Georgia, Ohio and Utah. If you are interested in becoming a mentor, please review the information below and complete the application forms. First is the application itself, to be completed online. After submitting the application, you will need to print, sign, and return three additional forms.
- NCME brochure
- Mentor job description (Word doc)
- Online mentor application
- Please print and sign the following:
- State coordinator contact information
Updates Coming Soon!
Please note that in order to ensure the safety of the young participants in this mentoring program, all prospective mentors will undergo a thorough, confidential background check and screening process.
Become a mentee
Mentee (n.): A young adult between the ages of 16 to 26 who is eager to learn from an experienced adult.
Why should I be a mentee?
We've all been there.
You may have just graduated or are about to graduate; you may have a job, a spouse or a child. You may have never used a cane. It does not matter. Wherever you are in life, the question that looms in front of you might be enough to stand in your way of reaching your next goal.
The question is simple. What's next?
We are here to answer that question and make sure you accomplish your goal.
The goal of the National Center for Mentoring Excellence (NCME) is to accept mentees where they are in life, and to help them accelerate their desires and strive to exceed their ambitions, which in turn will create a better future for them. Mentors will focus on interactive activities that will nurture and stress self-esteem and personal development to help mentees find a secure job in a field of their passion, develop long lasting relationships to help them network through life, and help them become active citizens integrated in their community. NCME blind and low vision mentors build lasting bridges between mentees and their future. This "bridge of life" demonstrates the important role blindness specific mentoring plays in encouraging blind young adults to break through the barriers and reach greater heights.
Join us in building a bridge that will bring you closer to your dreams and accelerate your life!
Requirements for being a mentee
- Blind or low vision
- Between the ages of 16-26
- Interested in learning from the experience of others
- Dream of a life full of opportunities
How can being mentored help me?
By participating in the mentoring program, you will have the opportunity to:
- Build a personal relationship with a positive blind role model
- Learn firsthand how other blind people lead successful lives and achieve their goals
- Develop friendships with blind and low vision young adults
- Have fun with activities you never expected you would do!
Mentee Application
- NCME brochure
- Mentee application (under 18 years of age)
- Mentee application (older than 18)
- Mentee interest survey (Word doc)
- State coordinator contact information
Resources
- Freedom for the Blind (pdf) by Jim Omvig
- Maryland Mentoring Partnership
- Mentor.org
- Peer Resources
- Pathfinders Mentoring Program, Iowa Department for the Blind Mentoring Program
- National Mentoring Center
- SafetyNET
- Teammates.org
- Five Essential Elements
State Contacts
Georgia
Garrick Scott
Phone: (404) 371-1000 ext. 22
Toll free: (866) 316-3242 ext. 22
Fax: (404) 371-1002
Ohio
Deborah Kendrick
Phone: (513) 321-2232
Toll-free: (800) 396-6326
Fax: (513) 321-6430
Utah
Cheralyn Braithwaite Creer
Phone: (801) 651-5504
Toll-free: (888) 292-3007
Fax: (801) 294-6000
Texas
Richie Flores
Phone: (512) 323-5444
Toll free: (866) 636-3289
Fax: (512) 420-8160
If you have any questions about the NCME, contact:
Treva E. Olivero
Coordinator, Mentoring and Outreach Projects
Jernigan Institute
NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND
200 East Wells Street
at Jernigan Place
Baltimore, MD 21230
(410) 659-9314, ext. 2295
(410) 659-5129 (fax)
