"There’s a sense of community among the mentors. I’ve met some of my closest friends through Minds Matter Colorado."
Rachel, Mentor and Associate Board member
WHY YOU SHOULD MENTOR
Mentoring is the heart of Minds Matter’s vision for change. Being a sustained presence in the life of a student can transform them both personally and academically. You will be doing so much more than just volunteering your time. As a Minds Matter mentor, you will grow from your experiences with the students. You’ll be able to see the tangible impact you have as you see your mentees learn and grow week after week. All while gaining a valuable resume asset and building a lasting network of like-minded professionals.
Minds Matter offers community for both volunteers and students through lasting and impactful relationships built on the foundation of personal interactions. It’s not uncommon for the mentor/mentee relationship between volunteers and their students to continue beyond the three-year program and into the students’ college and post-collegiate experiences (including weddings and family!).
While committing your Mondays for three years may sound daunting, it’s really not. In reality, it’s about half the Mondays in a year, because you’ll only mentor during the school year from September through May when the students have school. Ask any of our mentors, and they’ll tell you that the return you get from mentoring our students is so much greater than you could have expected.
How Our Mentoring Program Works
Being a Minds Matter mentor isn’t like volunteering with other youth support organizations. It’s scheduled, designed and facilitated so it’s almost plug-and-play. Our mentors are paired with another adult and matched with two students to form a 2:2 mentorship quartet. Mentors commit to supporting their students throughout their full three years in the program. This creates consistency for the students and fosters stronger bonds as mentors support, challenge and celebrate their mentees along the journey to college admission success.
Our program is expertly focused and structured. Every week, you, your-co mentor and your students will work through the Minds Matter curriculum, which guides students through exercises to develop the hard and soft skills they need to succeed in college.
WHO WE ARE LOOKING FOR
We've found good mentors have the following characteristics, among others:
- The drive to make a tangible, identifiable difference in the future by helping students who should be going to college, but most likely wouldn't without support from our program.
- The commitment to the students and to three years of weekly evening sessions (usually about 26 sessions per school year.)
- An openness to new experiences, new learning and questioning assumptions.
- An enthusiasm for living life and helping others reach their full potential.
THE COMMITMENT
The opportunity to make an impact on a student’s life comes with important responsibilities. When working with or on behalf of youth, a primary component to building trust is being there for them. Commitment is key to what we do—your presence, proactive communication and conscientiousness are what makes Minds Matter Colorado work.
What the commitment looks like:
- Mentoring sessions take place on Monday nights during the school year starting in September and ending in May.
- It translates to approximately 26 sessions throughout the school year.
- Mentors should be prepared to commit to working with their students for three years as you support them through the three-year college readiness program.
APPLY TODAY
We are so excited you are interested in applying to be a volunteer. We are currently accepting new applications for volunteers! Please use the the Volunteer Application below to get started.
Additionally, please sign up to join an information session to learn more or contact joinus@mindsmatterco.org if you have any questions.
ADDITIONAL VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES
We understand if mentoring isn’t something you can commit to. We have a number of ways you can donate your time to help our program and students. You can join our associate board and help guide the future of Minds Matter Colorado. We also host two fundraising events (a casino night in the spring and an adult field day in summer) both of which are planned and run by our volunteers. To inquire about non-mentor volunteering email us at volunteer@mindsmatterco.org.