Downloadable Trainings
Through its various projects, the National Mentoring Center offers a variety of distance learning and online training opportunities. Below you will find a listing of archived trainings that can be downloaded (either as an mp3 audio file with slides or as a video). Please check our Event Calendar for a listing of upcoming online trainings.
Archived LEARNS Webinars
- Creative Recruitment
Understand the guiding principles of volunteer recruitment, learn how to identify a target audience for their recruitment efforts, become familiar with various recruitment strategies, and gain ideas for recruiting more male volunteers.
Slides (PDF), Audio (MP3) - Building Youth Literacy in Mentoring Programs
A 30-minute documentary tour of four national service tutoring programs working with elementary schools. Tutors featured are from AmeriCorps and AmeriCorps*VISTA, Learn and Serve America, and National Senior Service Corps.
Audio (MP3), Transcript (PDF), Slides (PDF) - Making and Supporting the Match
Learn about the process of making mentor-mentee matches and getting them off to a good start. Understand standards for match supervision and monitoring, and hear real life examples of how to troubleshoot match issues.
Audio (MP3), Transcript (PDF), Slides (PDF)
Archived MRC Webinars
- Special Issues in Targeted Mentor Recruitment: Male Mentors and Hispanic Communities
Presented by Juergen Kneifel, Consultant; Beth Senger, CEO of BBBS of El Paso
"Recruiting Men to Mentor" describes how programs can build a successful male recruitment strategy by assessing their needs and community resources and understanding male volunteer motivations to develop recruitment messages that work for males. "Recruitment in Hispanic Communities" can help programs who are working primarily with Hispanic youth and families develop their capacity to find, train, and support Hispanic volunteers. Based on her personal experience in El Paso, Texas, Beth includes helpful tips on developing community relationships and involving families in the program.
Audio - both presentations (MP3)
Slides: Recruiting Men to Mentor (PDF) ~ Recruitment in Hispanic Communities (PDF) - The BBBS School-Based Mentoring Impact Study: Findings and Implications for Policy and Practice
Presented by Dr. Carla Herrera, Senior Policy Researcher, Public/Private Ventures
This session examined results from the large-scale random assignment impact study of the Big Brothers/Big Sisters school-based mentoring program, recently completed by Public/Private Ventures. Dr. Herrera provides participants with a unique opportunity to learn about the study's findings and their implications for program practice.
Slides (PDF), Audio (MP3) - Relationships in School-Based Mentoring Programs
Dr. Thomas Keller, Duncan and Cindy Campbell Professor, Portland State University
Drawing from his study on school-based mentoring programs and his previous experience as a caseworker, Dr. Keller reviewed and discussed recent research examining the development of mentor-student relationships in school settings. This presentation also addressed the interpersonal processes that contribute to successful and productive mentoring relationships.
Slides (PDF), Audio (MP3) - The Importance of Match Activities on Mentoring Relationships
Dr. Michael Karcher, Associate Professor of Education and Human Development, University of Texas at San Antonio
Using data and instruments from his own research, and drawing upon existing research into mentoring relationships, Dr. Karcher explored the activities which tend to produce successful mentoring outcomes, program structures that facilitate meaningful activities, and the interplay between mentor's motivations and their approach to the relationship.
Slides (PDF), Audio (MP3), Handout (PDF) - Micro-sustainability: Strategies for Finding and Building Local Support for Your Program
Miki Hodge, Chaffee County Mentors (Colorado)
This seminar focused on a topic that is of vital importance to all mentoring programs: sustainability. Rather than examining large-scale federal funding, this session looked at sustainability from a new perspective, exploring the small, grassroots, and local forms of support that programs can tap into. This session taught participants about "hidden" dollars and often overlooked strategies that can be implemented in any community.
Slides (PDF), Audio (MP3)