The Project T.I.M.E. Mentor Program strives to foster positive relationships between public

school students and T.I.M.E mentors. The mentors seek to support families and help improve the

students' chance of succeeding academically and socially.

The T.I.M.E. Mentor Program matches trained community volunteers with elementary and

middle school students in cooperation with the schools' teachers and intervention specialists. The

T.I.M.E. volunteers meet with their students once or twice per week during the lunch hour.

Mentors and students play on the playground, assist with schoolwork, read, or do other activities

together. The mentors serve as role models and become stable, reliable friends to their students.

Volunteers mentor from October to early June during the academic year.

Hear participants in the T.I.M.E. Mentor Program from the Hillside School describe their experiences here.

As a mentor, you are among many special volunteers who are committed to sharing ideas and wisdom to encourage a student toward a more positive direction in his or her life.

Mentor's Role
A mentor is a caring adult, a friend who listens, understands, responds and offers support and advice. Many students have a greater need for positive role models than for critics. This is especially true for students with low self-esteem. Mentors can be extremely effective sources of learning. Their roles can assist in numerous ways, including:

The recommended time period that a mentor meets with the student is once a week a 3 to 5 visits per month for the entire school year. It is very important that the visits be consistent. The mentor and school usually decide the day of the visits.

Mentor Guidelines
All mentors must complete a Volunteer Application that is used to complete a background check. Once the mentor is approved the school coordinator is contacted and the mentor/student assignment can be made.

Training
Every mentor must attend a training session. The training session is usually held at the T.I.M.E. Mentor Office. Training is conducted by the Program Coordinator.

Initiating Matching
After the application is processed and approved, the Program Coordinator will meet with the counselor at the participating school to make the Mentor/Mentee match. When matching students, the coordinator starts with those students who are "ready to succeed" and not with the most troubled students who may need professional intensive counseling. Things to consider are similarities in backgrounds, hobbies, family composition and career interests in matching students with mentors. The coordinator will send a recommendation letter and consent form to the student's parent/guardian.