Volunteer Career Mentoring Program
The Associated Black Charities Volunteer Career Mentoring Program (VCM) is designed to meet the needs of low wage workers of color who have a strong desire for career advancement but currently lack the career advancement skills that would ensure their upward mobility. The program design includes 6-career development and mentoring sessions, structured over a 6-month period.
Many African American employees who have significant potential do not have mentors to help them identify their strengths, improve their performance, and set career goals that could increase their wage growth potential. The Volunteer Career Mentoring program brings together a diverse group of adults who have or had (retirees) successful careers and want to help others learn how to achieve their goals and low wage workers who articulate and demonstrate a desire for career advancement.
Partnerships
Associated Black Charities relies on strong partnerships to make
this program successful. Our partners help us identify and recruit prospective participants (mentors/mentees) through hosting information sessions at their respective locations. Some of our partners include but are not limited to: United Way of Central Maryland, Goodwill Industries of the Chesapeake and AARP.
United Way of Central Maryland has been the anchor funding partner since the inception of the Volunteer Career Mentoring Program.
Goodwill Industries of the Chesapeake serves as one of our founding partners and provides ABC with interested mentees, working graduates who are interested in being paired with a mentor to help them create a career plan and support them along their journey.
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AARP has been a valued partner of the Volunteer Career Mentoring Program. They have recruited retirees to serve as mentors and run ads about the program in their monthly newsletter and online publications.
Program Success
Four-hundred fifty mentors and 450 mentees have been served since the inception of ABC's Volunteer Career Mentoring Program.
99
Percentage of Mentees that are African-American.
85
Percentage of Mentees that are Women.
75
Percentage of Mentees whom completed a 6-month training program with a Career Development Plan.
94
Percentage of Mentees that retained employment for duration of program.
70
Percentage of Mentees that showed improvement in knowledge, skills, and behaviors as demonstrated by a Pre/Post Assessment.
85
Percentage of Mentees that applied for new employment or advancement opportunities within 9-month of program start.
Ready To Be A Mentor?
A mentee-mentor relationship entails work, commitment, and follow-through on both sides if it's going to be successful. Consider the following traits to assess your mentoring skills to ensure that the mentoring you offer will be effective and has lasting value.
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Good listener/sounding board
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Flexible
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Value diversity of perspectives
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Knowledgeable
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Nonjudgmental
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Able to give constructive feedback
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Honest and candid
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Able to network and find resources
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Successful in career
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Willing/able to devote time to developing others
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Eager to have an impact
For more information about ABC's Volunteer Career Mentoring program, or to sign up as a Mentor, please contact Bernard Sims at bsims@abc-md.org.