Opportunities From: Connect Central Oregon

About YouthBuild Mentoring

Mentoring is one of the many services—including academic coursework, vocational training, and leadership development—provided by your local YouthBuild program. YouthBuild mentors are caring adults from the community who volunteer their time to work directly with students as they pursue their educational and career goals. We feel our mentors are one of the critical supports in helping our students get the most out of the program and continuing on a positive path once they transition out of YouthBuild. 

Who are our students?
Our students are young men and women ages 16-24 who have previously dropped out of school and are returning to get their diploma or GED and learn skills for success in their career and life. Many have been in trouble with the law, in the foster care system, or the victim of abuse or exploitation. Most of them have made the decision to “flip the script” on their life, working toward a brighter future for themselves, their family, and their community.

Why do YouthBuild students need mentors?
Behind every successful adult is at least one mentor who helped them overcome a challenge or opened their world to new possibilities. If you reflect on your own life, you will surely think of many caring adults outside your immediate family who helped support you at various points along the way. Mentors inspire us, teach us, challenge us to be better people and achieve our goals.

Unfortunately, many of the young people who come to YouthBuild lack these positive role models in their lives. They may have found negative role models in the absence of positive individuals. While they meet many caring adults during their time in YouthBuild, a mentor from the community is uniquely positioned to provide positive support to the youth when and where they need it the most: In the community. YouthBuild mentors enhance the work of our staff and provide additional support to our students as they take the next steps in their lives.

Who serves as YouthBuild mentors?
Our mentors come from all walks of life. We do not require any special skills or abilities, but we do ask that mentors meet our minimum requirements:

Participate in our mentor screening and training process Meet with students a minimum of four hours per month Participate in occasional group activities and service projects Be a caring, consistent, honest, enthusiastic, and supportive role model for a student

What do mentors and students do together?
Mostly, have a lot of fun! They usually meet in the community at times that are convenient for both the student and the mentor. Often they will do an activity related to the student’s Life Plan, a guiding document that helps the youth set goals in the areas of education, career, family, finances, health, and personal relationships. This might include looking into colleges, exploring a career, or learning how to stick to a budget or become a better cook. But there is also plenty of room for just hanging out, talking about life, and simply having fun together. Occasionally, mentors and students will also take part in service projects or other group activities that lend a bit more structure to the relationship. But mostly, you and your student will work together to come up with activities that work for both of you.

Mentor eligibility  requirments

Must be over 21 years of age Must complete an application Attend a face to face interview session Pass criminal record and child abuse registry checks employment and personal reference checks

Benefits

Guide young adults towards achieving their education and career goals Enhance growth by modeling good values and judgment Learn about your community, its diversity and its future Have a positive impact on young adults within your community

On behalf of the young people we serve, thank you for considering stepping up to the challenge of helping students achieve their goals and improve our community.

For more information, please contact us at

541-526-1380 or madeline.cunningham@heartoforegon.org. 

Volunteer at our YouthBuild location in Sisters Oregon to help the whole team with a variety of clerical, organizing, cleaning, shopping, and/or food prep activities.  The position is highly flexible for your schedule and your interests.  We are looking for volunteers who can help at least 4 hours a week, up to 20 hours a week. 

The environment is a fun and lively school house, with lots of smiling folks to interact with.  

Please contact us to discuss further! 

 

Heart of Oregon Corps inspires and empowers generations of young people in Central Oregon to believe in themselves while they gain new skills, degrees, and certifications.

If you're interested in advocating for our young people, Heart of Oregon seeks passionate, committed Board volunteers with broad skill sets and networks from all kinds of different backgrounds. We strive to build a diverse board that represents and advocates for the communities and cultural groups our young people are from. No previous board service is required; training and mentoring for board volunteers is available.

The Board works as a group to provide oversight, long-term planning, and raise resources for the organization. Board members believe in the purpose and mission of the organization, and act responsibly and prudently as its steward. Heart of Oregon Corps provides Directors and Officers Insurance to protect volunteers from personal liability.

Board volunteers embody HOC’s four values: Integrity, Learning, Community, Responsibility.

We would love to meet you! Get in touch today. 

Heart of Oregon is currently seeking Volunteer Tutors to assist students ages 16-24 in improving their math and literacy levels while studying for their GED tests. Tutors will work with students in a supervised one-to-one environment on a regular basis; some small group tutoring experiences may also be available. Tutors can focus on subject areas they feel most confident in.

BACKGROUND

Young people join the Heart of Oregon Corps to improve their community and their individual lives. Heart of Oregon Corps provides opportunities for young adults to further their education, gain job skills, and become a positive part of the community. As a tutor, you would work alongside these crew members, helping them achieve their academic goals and keeping them focused on their futures.

SPECIFIC DUTIES

Develop relationship with students Focus students on successes and long term goals, as well as academic assignments Help students develop independent learning skills Assist students with new terms and vocabulary Help students connect new learning with prior learning

QUALIFICATIONS

Must be over 18 years of age or older Experience with at-risk youth or alternative education preferred Should be proficient in either mathematics (including algebra and geometry) or language arts (essay composition, grammar, spelling, vocabulary and rhetorical structure) or both. Tutoring in science and social studies is also sometimes needed. Strong commitment to helping young people succeed in an innovative training program, to reorient their lives, nurture their leadership skills and enable them to make a difference in their community. Must be able to relate sensitively to a multiracial and multicultural group of young people and have respect for the ideas and intelligence of young adults.

OTHER REQUIREMENTS

Pass a post-offer criminal background check (Oregon State, and Sex Offender Check) Complete a Heart of Oregon Corps Volunteer Application

 

If you have any questions or wish to apply, contact the Volunteer Coordinator at 541-526-1380 or at casey.stewart@heartoforegon.org.