Volunteer Newsletter, July 2020

July, 2020

CLIENT UPDATE

Dear Supporters, Volunteers and Mentors,

We hope that you and your loved ones are and remain in good health. We know that many of you may be concerned about the health and well-being of the young people living in the Roots & Wings RISE Program as well as FLY Program students.

Please know that all our Roots & Wings clients are doing well and our staff continues to support them through this crisis with increased personal communication, daily discussions, assessments, and referrals as needed.

So many of you have been kind and generous during our time of need. Due to your generosity we’ve been able to provide our clients with Shoprite gift cards to help them obtain needed food and supplies. We’ve also had a large amount of food, supplies, masks, and toiletries dropped off at the office. They have all been distributed to our clients and we are so very grateful to all who have donated to us!

As always, we thank you for your continued concern and support.

Social distancing doesn't have to disrupt mentorship

(Article excerpt from Harvard Business Review )

The current pandemic has many more people teleworking and adapting business to the virtual environment. While continuing to lead direct reports and collaborate with customers remain business imperatives in the new “workplace,” don’t forget your mentees. Great mentors show up and engage with mentees in crises and uncertain times, even when that requires creativity and adaptation.

We offer several additional recommendations for continuing and deepening your mentorships in a time of social distancing:

Communicate with your mentees, but don’t assume you understand their situations. Everyone is already experiencing plenty of uncertainty and new demands. Let your mentoring be something mentees can depend on without any pressure to reciprocate.

In this issue:

Social distancing doesn't have to disrupt mentorship

Volunteer Spotlight- Gary McLaughlin

Happenings at R&W-Facebook Mentor Social Media Campaign

Make adjustments to established norms. If a mentee is eager to continue with tele-mentoring, figure out a new rhythm and the best medium for meeting in the online environment, which may require changes to previous routines.
Show care and compassion. Test your listening skills, and focus on your mentee’s concerns.
Address concerns through coping and mastery skills. Remember: You don’t need to rescue or fix anything for your mentees. Instead, offer support that will enable them to overcome challenges on their own.

Although social distancing is necessary during the pandemic, it doesn’t mean you can’t maintain close emotional and relational proximity with your mentees. Use this moment in time to explore new ways of staying connected, show that you care, validate feelings of distress, develop talent, and challenge yourself to get out of your mentoring comfort zone.

Click here to read the article in its entirety.

Volunteer Spotlight - Gary McLaughlin

Offers patience, wisdom and a few life lessons

Gary McLaughlin believes in doing his part in the community and is pleased to be able to do so at Roots & Wings. The organization’s mission of assisting youth who have aged out of the foster care system, appealed to Gary and he wanted to be a part of helping our young clients achieve self-sufficiency.

“I wanted to do my part and help a great cause,” he said. “Being a mentor at Roots & Wings has allowed me to get involved, help others and be of service.”

Gary has been a volunteer at Roots & Wings for four years and has mentored two young male clients.

Mentors play an important role at Roots & Wings and Gary hopes that what he brings to the organization as a mentor will have a positive impact on our young clients. “I’m hopeful that in my role as a mentor, I can be a sounding board. I want to offer my mentee patience, wisdom and perhaps teach him a few life lessons.”

When Gary isn’t mentoring at Roots & Wings, he enjoys a good game of tennis, hiking and reading.

Happenings at R&W

MENTOR SOCIAL MEDIA CAMPAIGN KICK-OFF

On July 1, Roots & Wings kicked off a month-long Facebook and social media campaign to solicit volunteers for our mentoring program. The objective was to broaden our search and garner interest from individuals who were up to the challenge of offering guidance through the crisis -- any crisis. Click here to see one of our Facebook post. If you know anyone who would make an exceptional mentor please refer them to our website.

Thank you for your continued support of Roots and Wings. It is greatly appreciated!