Youth with a mentor are:
Mentorship changes lives.
Beyond Basketball, Inc. mentors work with local youth on three focus areas: Education, Daily Life, and Career. Research shows that mentorship is a driving factor in class attendance and college enrollment, reducing behavior problems, and career success. Learn more below.
Beyond Basketball. When the ball stops bouncing.
Education
Mentor Focus 1 of 3:
Mentoring has significant positive effects on two early warning indicators that a student may be falling off-track:
High levels of absenteeism (Kennelly & Monrad, 2007)
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Students who meet regularly with their mentors are 52% less likely than their peers to skip a day of school and 37% less likely to skip a class.(Public/Private Ventures Study of Big Brothers Big Sisters)
Recurring behavior problems (Thurlow, Sinclair & Johnson, 2002)
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Young adults who face an opportunity gap but have a mentor are 55% more likely to be enrolled in college than those who did not have a mentor. (The Mentoring Effect, 2014)
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In addition to better school attendance and a better chance of going on to higher education, mentored youth maintain better attitudes toward school. (The Role of Risk, 2013)
Mentor Focus 2 of 3:
Daily Life
By being a consistent adult presence in a young person’s life, mentors can offer advice, share life their experiences, and help a young person navigate challenges. Youth who meet regularly with their mentors are:
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46% less likely than their peers to start using illegal drugs and 27% less likely to start drinking. (Public/Private Ventures study of Big Brothers Big Sisters)
Young adults who face an opportunity gap but have a mentor are:
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81% more likely to participate regularly in sports or extracurricular activities than those who do not. (The Mentoring Effect, 2014)
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A study showed that the strongest benefit from mentoring, and most consistent across risk groups, was a reduction in depressive symptoms — particularly noteworthy given that almost one in four youth reported worrisome levels of these symptoms at baseline. (The Role of Risk, 2013)
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Mentoring promotes positive social attitudes and relationships. Mentored youth tend to trust their parents more and communicate better with them. (The Role of Risk, 2013)
Career
Mentor Focus 3 of 3:
One study estimates that the human potential lost as a result of the educational achievement gap is the economic equivalent of a permanent national recession. (Mentoring: At the crossroads of education, business and community, 2015) By preparing young people for college and careers, mentoring helps develop the future workplace talent pipeline. (Mentoring: At the crossroads of education, business and community, 2015)
Mentors can also prepare their mentees for professional careers and assist with their workplace skills by:
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Helping set career goals and taking the steps to realize them.
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Using personal contacts to help young people network with industry professionals, find internships, and locate possible jobs.
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Introduce young people to resources and organizations they may not be familiar with.
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Skills for seeking a job, interviewing for a job, and keeping a job.
The number of ways mentoring can help a young person are as varied as the people involved in each program. While the lists and statistics can be impressive, personal stories can be even more impressive.