Reaching out Mentoring
Everyone Deserves a Mentor.
Reaching Out Mentoring Program (ROMP) began in 2005 with twelve students between grades 5 and 8 at Pleasant Hill Middle School. By the end of that school year, we doubled the number of students being served. In 2007 ROMP expanded to the Pleasant Hill elementary and high schools and was serving 80 students. Last fall (2008) we expanded into neighboring South Lane School District, opening a Mentor Center at Lincoln Middle School.
Today ROMP mentors and assists 150 students between grades one and twelve in the Pleasant Hill and South Lane school districts. We partner with the districts who refer students and provide space to operate four Mentor Centers: Pleasant Hill Elementary School, Pleasant Hill High School, Lincoln Middle School and our newest addition, Cottage Grove High School. Our mentoring is designed to help students succeed in their current class work, prepare for high school success, and make plans for future academic pursuits – vocational school or college. Our vision is to support disadvantaged students in the rural areas of Lane County by providing mentoring and academic assistance, by connecting high school and elementary school students through our buddy program, and by building a stronger, proactive relationship between students and their community.
What is the commitment of a mentor? See full job description.
- We ask all our mentors to commit to meeting with a youth for a minimum of one hour a week for at least one academic school year.
- Our Mentor Centers are stuffed full of activities. We have games, arts and crafts, computers, a lending library, sports equipment, and snacks. You can come with activities you would like to do with your youth OR come and find something in the Mentor Center you and your mentee would like to do together.
- We offer three or four fieldtrips a year for the entire mentor/mentee group. AND we will purchase tickets for local theater productions, athletic events, museum passes or other ideas that you may have.
- We ask our mentors to attend at least two of our four Mentor Development Workshops we hold each year. (Attach a link to our calendar). All of our Mentor Development Workshops are conducted by professionals in the topic area.
- Mentors and their families are asked to attend one of our three Family Connection Events. This is an opportunity to have the mentor and youth’s families come together and get to know one-another in a relaxed, comfortable atmosphere.
How do I become a Mentor?
Fill out the application online. Once we receive the application, a staff member will call you and arrange a training and background check.
Once you are trained and ready to go, we will work with you to match you with a youth who is in the age group you requested and at the location you requested. You and your youth will meet weekly on the same day at the same time each week.
The entire process from filling out the application to meeting with your youth takes about 2 to 3 weeks.
