HISTORY:  The Lend A Hand Mentor Program of Kandiyohi County started in 1998 and was organized by the Kandiyohi County Volunteer Center.  After five years, and over 120 matches later, the Mentor Program became too large for the Volunteer Center, so in January 2004, the Mentor Program moved to the Kandiyohi County Area Family YMCA.  The YMCA has room for further program growth and development, programming for mentors and mentees, and a central location or “meeting” place for activities.

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION: The Lend A Hand Mentor Program takes youth referred from the Kandiyohi County Area and matches them with volunteer adults from the area who have passed a thorough screening and background check process.  The youth are referred to the mentor program through teachers, child guides, social services, community corrections, parents, and even the kids themselves. 

Generally, the mentoring program is explained to the families through the referral sources.  The Mentor Program is explained to the family in further detail by the Program Director.  At this time, the family can express any concerns or questions they have about the program.   

The child is then placed on a waiting list of children to be selected from by prospective mentors. While the children are on the waiting list, we offer programming to keep the kids and their families interested in the Mentor Program. 

While the youth wait on the waiting list, volunteers from the community express their interest about the Mentor Program.  These volunteers fill out an application and then background and reference checks are started.  Background and reference checks take about one week to complete.  Once the prospective mentors’ background and reference checks are cleared, the mentors are trained.  This is an informal training where information is given to the mentors to help them be successful mentors. Also at this training, the mentors select their mentee from a youth profile list. The youth profile list is a list of kids giving information on their interests, hobbies, city, gender, and age.  When the mentor selects a mentee, both parties are contacted along with the referral source and a match date is set.

The family, the mentor and the program director meet on the match date.  When they get to know one another, they exchange information.  Once this is done, the first activity between the mentor and mentee is scheduled.

The mentor and mentee can use the YMCA free.  The YMCA is a fun place to get together. . 

Regular contact is maintained throughout the match by the YMCA Mentor Program Coordinator.