What is YouthFriends e-Mentoring?
YouthFriends e-Mentoring™ provides busy professionals with an easy way to mentor students by communicating through the Internet. Exchanging weekly messages gives students and adult e-Mentor volunteers the opportunity to spend time together online while students practice new skills and experience enhanced learning. Download a PDF Introduction here.

How does YouthFriends e-Mentoring Work?
YouthFriends e-Mentors help students learn to improve writing skills, and explore careers, while discussing common interests related to academics. By reading and responding to student messages, e-Mentors assist with assigned projects that help connect schoolwork to the real world. e-Mentoring takes about 30 minutes a week (usually for a semester) and is under the guidance of classroom teachers. All communications with students are written within the easy-to-use, password protected MentorMail internet tool. Students write messages to their e-Mentors on school computers during the school day.  e-Mentors access MentorMail to read and respond to student messages. Students and e-Mentors usually have at least one face-to-face meeting during their e-Mentoring project.

What is MentorMail?
MentorMail is an innovative internet tool developed by YouthFriends to make the e-Mentoring process easy, safe and worthwhile. MentorMail is a secure, web-based messaging system that allows caring adult volunteers to mentor students online. Students and e-Mentors write messages to each other through MentorMail instead of through personal e-mail addresses. Teachers access and review student and mentor messages to track student progress.

Why YouthFriends e-Mentoring?
National research on successful e-Mentoring programs shows substantial benefits to both students and
e-Mentors. Students involved in e-Mentoring show improvements in reading, writing and computer skills, as well as increased interest in schoolwork. Adults with the potential to be good mentors but lacking the time for regular school visits find e-Mentoring to be an ideal way to make a difference for a young person. Whether on a business trip or on a tight deadline, an e-Mentor volunteer can maintain regular contact with a student online.

Screening and Training
Like all YouthFriends volunteers, e-Mentors complete a volunteer application and are carefully interviewed, screened and trained to work with young people. Training sessions are free of charge and offered regularly.

e-Mentoring Opportunities for You and Your Organization
You and your company or community organization can adopt an e-Mentoring classroom to help students learn more about careers and corporate citizenship. To volunteer your organization, please contact YouthFriends at 816.842.7082, at 913.322.1401, or at 877.842.7082 if you are calling from outside the Kansas City area.