Waterbury State Offices Complex on May 9
Mobius is excited to convene the 2017 Vermont Mentoring
Symposium at the Waterbury State Offices Complex on Tuesday, May 9, from 9:15
a.m. to 4:00 p.m. This statewide event will bring together more than 60 youth
mentoring program staff, board members, and supporters from across Vermont
for a day of networking and professional development.
In addition to the workshops and networking activities, the event will also
feature appearances from U.S. Congressman Peter Welch, field representatives
Diane Derby and Katarina Lisaius from the offices of Senators Patrick Leahy
and Bernie Sanders, Secretary of Education Rebecca Holcombe, and Commissioner
of the Department for Children and Families Ken Schatz.
“We are excited for this wonderful opportunity to have Vermont mentoring
professionals and supporters gather together again this year,” said Chad
Butt, executive director of Mobius. “We hope that program staff,
legislators, and supporters alike will all come away with new ideas and
energy for supporting young people in our communities.”
The event will begin with remarks from Congressman Welch and other political
representatives in attendance. Guest speaker Andrea Stander will then share
from her experiences as a mentor for 17 years through the Girls/Boyz First
mentoring program, followed by a lunch and networking hour.
During the afternoon portion of the event, attendees will be invited to
participate in a series of workshops on a variety of topics including
trauma-informed mentoring, grantwriting, board development, youth behavioral
issues, and working with parents. The Symposium will conclude with a mentor
and mentee question and answer panel, facilitated by Secretary Holcombe, and
closing remarks by Commissioner Schatz.
The Vermont Mentoring Symposium was planned and organized by Mobius and its
Program Leadership Council, an advisory group comprised of elected
representatives from mentoring programs across the state that advises and
assists the organization with its various youth mentoring initiatives.
According to the “Mentoring Effect,” a study released in 2014 by MENTOR
(The National Mentoring Partnership), one in three youth in Vermont will
enter adulthood without having a formal or informal mentoring relationship
with a caring adult. The results of national studies by MENTOR and Big
Brothers Big Sisters illustrate that a mentor can enhance a young person’s
learning skills and help him or her build resiliency and pro-social skills.
Youth with mentors are less likely to engage in risky behavior with drugs and
alcohol, are more likely to develop positive relationships with peers and
adults, and more likely to pursue college and other post-secondary
opportunities.
Now in its fifth year as Vermont’s Mentoring Partnership, Mobius supports
approximately 140 adult-to-youth mentoring program sites that serve 2,300
mentor pairs throughout the state. Mobius awards more than $300,000 to youth
mentoring agencies annually through the Vermont Mentoring Grants, which are
made possible by support from the A.D. Henderson Foundation, the Vermont
Department for Children and Families, and the Permanent Fund for Vermont's
Children. Mobius also offers technical support to program staff, maintains an
online program directory and referral system for volunteers, manages a
quality-based program management database, raises public awareness of
mentoring, works with programs to ensure they are meeting best practices, and
leads statewide mentoring initiatives.
For more information about Mobius, and mentoring programs and initiatives in Vermont, visit www.mobiusmentors.org.
United States