Happy Summer!

In May, the MENTOR MInnesota team asked our Regional Program Services Council to share what they saw, heard, and wanted to either uplift or get support for. The mid-2026 program trends that came across loud and clear are: hiring support and mental health resoures.

Mentoring program leaders wear many hats in their day-to-day and it can be challenging to devote time to the quality onboarding for coordinators we all want. With this in mind, we co-hosted a discussion with Dr. Lindsey Weiler and a team of UMN researchers to provide real-time support for leaders who had match mentoring challenges. We're working with our program committee to identify more opportunities like this. Keep your eyes peeled for more ways we'll be meeting this need!

We are also in the planning stages for our upcoming Mental Health Ambassador fall cohorts - we're planning to host FOUR all across the state! If you're interested in learning more about this, check out our landing page linked at the bottom of this newslettter.

Thank you for being part of this community and for all that you do to support young people across Minnesota and beyond.

With appreciation,

The MENTOR Minnesota team

This Friday! July 10: Becoming a Better Mentor: Working with Others in the Mentoring Relationship  

Learn why Relationships Beyond the Mentee Matter and explore how mentors can collaborate with caregivers, teachers, and other trusted adults. You’ll learn practical ways to strengthen communication, build trust with families, and create a more consistent support network for youth. 

Register for the virtual training here!

July 14, 15, 16 from 12-2PM Facilitator Skills Training  

MENTOR National is offering a Facilitator Skills Training for those looking to improve their skills as a group training facilitator, and wanting to lead more effective and engaging group meetings or trainings. Facilitation requires skill and strategy to support others in reflecting on and changing their practice. In this three-session professional development series, you will learn how to train mentoring practitioners, mentors, and other adult learners through responsive facilitation. This practical, hands-on training focuses on immediately applicable skills you can use in your next session. You will build confidence and credibility as a trainer, hone your unique facilitation approach, and learn best practices for managing group dynamics, alongside a national cohort of mentoring practitioners. There is a cost to the training, but it’s worth the money! 

Cost: $150 

Register Here!

If you register, say that MENTOR Minnesota referred you! 

Variable Dates: Youth Mental Health First Aid training 

Interested in getting you or your mentors trained in Mental Health First Aid? Register for an upcoming session with the University Y! 



Register here.

Friday, August 7th Match Support Lab: Exploring Innvoative Mentoring (9-10am CST)  

Join MENTOR Minnesota and Innovative Mentoring for an interactive look at mentoring software designed to support mentor management, scheduling, messaging, and quick access to match data. This session will include a brief MENTOR Minnesota training on effective match support, followed by a live product demo and time for participants to ask questions, share feedback, and imagine new tools that could better support program coordinators, mentors, and mentees.

Participants will leave with practical ideas for strengthening match support, a clearer understanding of how technology can support mentoring program quality, and an opportunity to help shape tools designed for the field.

Register here.

Friday, August 14th: Becoming a Better Mentor: Honoring Youth Voice and Building Power

Young people don’t need to be fixed. They need to be heard.

This session will help you shift from leading to partnering. You’ll learn how to center youth voice, share power in the relationship, and support young people in making their own decisions with confidence. Learn how to partner with youth instead of leading over them!

Register here!

Learn with us!

Demand for MENTOR Minnesota trainings is growing and we don’t want your organization to miss out! We delivery at least one no-cost and one specialty training to organizations like yours each month. 

If you attended a session that sparked ideas, strengthened your practice, or left you wanting more, bring that learning back to your own team. Our trainings are designed to help mentors, program staff, educators, and youth-serving professionals build stronger, more supportive relationships with young people. 

Loved a session? Request it for your organization and keep learning going with a training specifically for your organization. 

Questions? Email Eric Pothen, Program Director: eric.pothen@mentormn.org  

Make your voice heard on changes to federal funding processes by July 13! 



I'd like to encourage you to email your members of Congress to oppose proposed changes to federal funding opportunities. These proposed changes could have devastating impacts on access to care and create further instability for nonprofits serving vulnerable folks. This campaign is led by the National Council of Nonprofits and they've made it easy to participate here.

July 26th: Survey: Supporting the Mental Health of K-12 Students

Consider supporting research by completing a survey on supporting the mental health of K-12 students. The survey close date has been extended to Sunday, July 26th, 2026.

We invite you to respond to this survey and to share it with members of your community(ies) if you have not already! 

Stay cool!