INTRODUCTION

The following document has been compiled by the Oakwood Forest mentoring program
committee. This was a joint effort with CNNC staff and community center employees. Following
further development, this document will serve as the program guide for future program
implementation. The next steps in program design are applying theory to the planned activities
and creating guidelines and expectations for mentors to follow when applying to mentor the
teens.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction Page 1

Mission Statement, Value Statement, Assessment Tools Page 3

Foundational Pillars Page 4

Group Mentoring Topics Page 5

Individual Mentoring Topics Page 6

Defining Pillars Page 7 – 15

Personal Competencies Page 7 - 9

Social Competencies Page 10 – 15

Logic Model Page 16

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Mission Statement:

The Oakwood Forest Mentoring Program aims to support mentees transitioning from
adolescence to adulthood by promoting social engagement, cultural literacy, and personal
development through group-based and one-on-one interactions in order to promote healthy life
skills.

Value Statement:

By focusing on and engaging in activities that revolve around the Foundational Pillars, we aim
to: increase leadership skills, sense of accountability and self-discipline, the ability to make
healthy relationship choices, a strong sense of self-worth, positive value system, healthy coping
skills, a goal-oriented mentality, and communication skills. By focusing on these foundational
pillars, the program also aims to decrease: bullying behaviors (from both the aggressor and the
victim perspective), use of unhealthy coping skills, social isolation, unhealthy communication
skills, and ethnocentrism.

The overall focus of this program is on transitioning to young adulthood. The program will work
with tweens (ages 10 – 12) and teens (ages 13-18).

This program plan draws upon advice outlined in Elements of Effective Practice for Mentoring,
an evidence-based best practice manual from the National Mentoring Partnership.

Assessment Tools:

The following assessment tools will be used to measure a teen’s progress throughout the
program. The tools will be used before, during, and after the program.

 https://psychology-tools.com/empathy-quotient/

 https://psychology-tools.com/hamilton-anxiety-rating-scale/

 https://psychology-tools.com/liebowitz-social-anxiety-scale/

 https://psychology-tools.com/buss-perry-aggression-questionnaire/

 https://psychology-tools.com/kutcher-adolescent-depression-scale/

Note: Further details and the timeline in which the tools will be used is still being discussed
among the mentoring program committee.
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Foundational Pillars:

The following topics are the foundational pillars of the program. These founding pillars guide
discussion topics, activities, and desired outcomes for the program.

 Self-esteem  Cultural adaptability

 Defining identity  Social enrichment

 Character development  SMART goals

 Effective communication  Service based learning

 Principles of teamwork  Conflict management

 Educational and /or career  Coping skills

development
 Community engagement
 Self-Discipline /Accountability
 Cultural Exposure
 Etiquette
 Self-Awareness
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Group mentoring (teen & tween time) topics:

Group mentoring topics determine the discussion points & expectations that the mentors will
guide the mentees to address during group meetings. Group meetings are to be held once a week
at the community center.

 Cultural exposure  Self-Discipline

 Fundraising  Conflict Management

 Social Enrichment  Community Engagement

 Principles of teamwork  Coping Skills

 Educational and/or career  Service based learning

development
 Self-Awareness
 Effective communication
 Social Accountability
 Character Development
 Social Adaptability
 Etiquette
 Self-Discipline
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Individual mentoring topics:

Individual mentoring topics determine the discussion points & expectations that the mentor will
guide the mentee to address during one-on-one meetings. One on one meetings are to be held
once every two weeks at the community center.

 Educational and/or career  Coping Skills

development
 Self-Discipline
 Effective communication
 Self-Awareness
 Character development
 Social Accountability
 SMART goals
 Social Adaptability
 Self esteem
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Defining Pillars:

In an effort to achieve consistency among mentor and mentee groups, the competencies are
defined as follows.

The personal competencies are topics that seem to be concentrated to change happening within
the individual, versus change that happens within social contexts, such as the “social
competencies” listed below. The social competencies are topics that seem to be concentrated to
change happening within an individual interacting and behaving in different social contexts,
versus change that happens solely within an individual. Each competency is loosely defined and
dependent upon what the committee sees will be applicable and successful to program attendees.

Personal Competencies:

 Self-esteem is defined as:

o Personal measurement of self-worth

o Confidence in one's own worth or abilities; self-respect

o Define perspective of self

 Identity Exploration is defined as:

o The qualities, beliefs, personality, looks and/or expressions that

make a person (self-identity) or group

o Ever-evolving

o Directly attached to an individual’s core values

 Developing positive principles to live by

o How we want to portray ourselves to others

o How we want others to see us

o Find the balance in how to align our behaviors with who we want
others to perceive us as

o Contributes to character development

 Educational & career development is defined as:

o Explore all options

o Set SMART goals

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o Consider passions

o Personality Tests

o Identify motivators

o Identify stepping stones

o Hear others’ stories

o Hands on exploration & shadowing opportunities

 Self-Discipline/Accountability is defined as:

o Self-directed behavior

o Develop self-control

o Self-awareness

 Maintain a reality-oriented perspective of self, including

strengths, weaknesses, triumphs and failures

 Be honest with oneself about personal standards

o Learn from mistakes

o Understand and overcome the fear of success (reference: Our

Deepest Fear by Marianne Williamson)

o Accept feedback from others

 SMART goals are defined as:

o Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound goals

o Helps to determine feasibility of goals

o Utilize a short-term SMART goal to help teens understand concept

for long-term goals

o Keep you on track

o Create maps to success

 Conflict management is defined as:

o Conflict management strategies

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o Communication is key

o Healthy confrontation

o Teach the importance of using “I” statements

o Identify one’s role in the conflict: scapegoat, instigator, etc.

o Respect

o Humility

o Stay in the here-and-now (not digging up bones)

o Address things as they arise (no bottling emotions)

 Coping skills is defined as:

o Methods used to deal with stressful situations. Good coping skills

lead to better mental health.

o Identify unhealthy coping skills

o Identify effects of healthy vs. unhealthy coping skills

o Identify needs for coping skills/triggers

o Build on existing healthy coping skills

 Self-Awareness is defined as:

o Understand personal strengths and weaknesses

o Understand why we react to things the way we do

o Understand how personal experience has shaped us

o Understand best fit scenario in group setting/humility

o Know limitations & when to request support from others

o Being honest with oneself about oneself

o Taking responsibility for one’s actions

o The ability to reflect on life from an objective standpoint (without

viewing it as right vs. wrong, and without personal opinion)
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Social Competencies:

 Effective communication is defined as:

o The ability to indicate exactly what one wants others to understand

o Accept feedback & criticism

o Active listening skills

o Being present in the moment

o Taking others communication style into consideration

o Teach the importance of using “I” statements (Nonviolent Comm.)

o Reframing

o Emotional Literacy

o Reading and understanding body language

 Principles of teamwork are defined as:

o Appreciating everyone’s strengths and weaknesses

o Everyone has leadership potential

o Working collectively

o Effective communication

o Conflict resolution in group setting

o Shared leadership among team members

o Respecting differences

 Etiquette is defined as:

o Personal hygiene

o Formal greetings

o Manners

o Considering audience

o Body language
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o Considering environment (ex: being quiet in a theatre)

o Respecting environment (ex: indoors vs. outdoors)

o Cultural mores

 Social enrichment is defined as:

o Having fun

o Social skills

o Opportunities to discover inner passions

o Expanding vocabulary bank

o Getting outside of one’s comfort zone to explore new things

o Social literacy: understanding how relationship dynamics &

behaviors change dependent upon the environment and context

 Service based learning is defined as:

o Learning the value of giving

o Gaining exposure to different service projects

o Helps develop empathy

o Foster community engagement to teach how individual behavior

impacts the community at large

o Helps individuals find their place in the community

o Discovering natural gifts, talents and inclinations to certain

services

o Group dynamics (micro and macro levels)

o Boosts self-esteem

o Understand personal investment within community

o Recognizing the work / input required by self and others

 Community engagement is defined as:

o Understand how individual behavior affects others and the

community at large
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o Becoming involved / taking ownership

o Investing resources (time, skills, talents)

 Cultural Exposure is defined as:

o Getting out of comfort zone

o Challenging worldview

o Comparing and contrasting one’s culture with another

o Engaging in other cultural experiences

o Processing biases (psychologically and emotionally)

 Cultural adaptability is defined as:

o Respecting other cultural backgrounds

o Allowing expression of personal beliefs and values

o Identifying and avoiding ethnocentrism

o Appreciating and accepting cultural differences

o Being able to accept criticism about personal beliefs, values and

culture

o Admitting that there is no perfect culture, there is no standard

 Fundraising is defined as:

o Team work

o Preparation / planning skills

o Learning to consider your audience

o Financial literacy: understanding earning and spending money

o Budgeting

o Learning how to work under the authority and leadership of others

 Self-esteem is defined as:

o Personal measurement of self-worth

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o Confidence in one's own worth or abilities; self-respect

o Clearer perspective of self

 Identity Exploration is defined as:

o the qualities, beliefs, personality, looks and/or expressions that

make a person (self-identity) or group

o ever-evolving

o Directly attached to an individual’s core values

 Developing positive principles to live by is defined as:

o How we want to portray ourselves to others

o Who we want others to see us as

o Find the balance in how to align our behaviors with who we want
others to perceive us as

o Contributes to character development

 Educational and/or career development is defined as:

o Explore all options

o Set SMART goals

o Consider passions

o Personality Tests

o Identify motivators

o Identify stepping stones

o Hear others’ stories

o Hands on exploration & shadowing opportunities

 Self-Discipline & Accountability are defined as:

o Self-directed behavior

o Develop self-control

o Self-awareness
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 Maintain a reality-oriented perspective of self, including

strengths, weaknesses, triumphs and failures

 Be honest with oneself about personal standards

o Learn from mistakes

o Understand and overcome the fear of success (reference: Our

Deepest Fear by Marianne Williamson)

o Accept feedback from others

 SMART goals are defined as:

o Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound goals

o Helps to determine feasibility of goals

o Utilize a short-term SMART goal to help teens understand concept

for long-term goals

o Keep you on track

o Create maps to success

 Conflict management is defined as:

o Conflict management strategies

o Communication is key

o Healthy confrontation

o Teach the importance of using “I” statements

o Identify one’s role in the conflict: scapegoat, instigator, etc.

o Respect

o Humility

o Stay in the here-and-now (not digging up bones)

o Address things as they arise (no bottling emotions)

 Coping skills are defined as:

o Methods used to deal with stressful situations, ultimately leading to

improved mental health.
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o Identify unhealthy coping skills

o Identify effects of healthy vs. unhealthy coping skills

o Identify needs for coping skills/triggers

o Build on existing healthy coping skills

 Self-Awareness is defined as:

o Understand personal strengths and weaknesses

o Understand why we react to things the way we do

o Understand how personal experience has shaped us

o Understand best fit scenario in group setting/humility

o Know limitations & when to request support from others

o Being honest with oneself about oneself

o Taking responsibility for one’s actions

o The ability to reflect on life from an objective standpoint (without

viewing it as right vs. wrong, and without personal opinion)
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Logic Model:

The following image depicts the mentoring program’s logic model.