Meet our runners: George Lobaton

For the third year in a row, Mass Mentoring Partnership is honored to be an official charity partner of the B.A.A. Boston Marathon® on April 15. We want you to meet our amazing runners. Let’s go Team MMP!

Runner:  George Lobaton
Longest run to date:  2009 Chicago Marathon
Favorite song to listen to while running: I’m a music lover! I listen to all kinds but when it comes down to it, house/techno music just gets the blood flowing and the legs cranking up to another level.
Favorite post-run snack: Banana and a tall glass of chocolate milk!

1. What inspired you to run the 2013 Boston Marathon for MMP? A great friend of mine  (Chris Collier) who volunteers as a Big Brother ran the 2012 Marathon for MMP. We believe in MMP’s values and what it stands for and want to help as much as possible. The reason I’ve selected to support MMP is because of their vision for improvement in the lives of youths in local communities. From being a mentee my junior year in high school (Brockton High School) to becoming a mentor my senior year for incoming freshman, I understand the benefit of having resources and MMP is there to provide and assist when needed. Mass Mentoring provides resources to organizations that support our students, and trains people to serve these kids in a way that benefits both mentor and mentee. In order for all to enjoy and receive as much help from MMP, we need to push forward and raise as much money for a great cause! From raising money for kids on St. Patrick’s Day in South Boston, to helping out in soup kitchens while in college, I’ve always believed in giving back, especially for the kids!
2. What has been the most rewarding experience of your training and/or fundraising so far? Being able to interact with different people whom I’ve never met and receiving donations on their behalf. Family and friends have also started to contribute and they’re passing the word around on my behalf!
3. What is your experience with mentoring? In my junior year in high school I decided to break apart from the “bad crowd” and enrolled in college prep courses and got involved a program (HERO/ STEP) guiding students who would the first generation in their household to go to college. It was, by far, the best choice I made in high school. The help and guidance that our mentors gave was so overwhelming that the following year I became a mentor for newcomers. I am currently involved with Boston Cares.
4. What do you think is the most important thing a mentor can do for a child? I believe there are two things a mentor can do for a child. First is to listen. Listen to what the child wants, needs or cherishes. Listen to what difficulties and obstacles the child has to endure on an everyday basis. After listening, the mentor must provide, whether it’s by giving or lending a hand to the child or letting that child know that you’re there to comfort them in the time of need.
5. What is the best piece of advice a mentor can give? Take two steps forward and never give up.
6. Complete this sentence: When I finish the Marathon, I will feel…Relieved! Knowing the time and effort behind raising money and training for the Marathon was worth it!

If you would like to read more about George or make a donation to his fundraising, please visit http://www.razoo.com/story/Georgie-S-Run-Back-To-Boston

Meet our runners: Alexis Avila

For the third year in a row, Mass Mentoring Partnership is honored to be an official charity partner of the B.A.A. Boston Marathon® on April 15. We want you to meet our amazing runners. Let’s go Team MMP!

Runner: Alexis Avila
Longest run to date: 26.2 (2012 Boston Marathon)
Favorite song to listen to while running: ”Knocking on Forbidden Doors” by Enigma
Favorite post-run snack: Spicy Japanese Chicken Noodle Soup

1. Why did you choose to run the 2013 Boston Marathon for MMP? I ran Boston for MMP last year and really enjoyed working with the staff, running with great teammates, and getting guidance from Coach Rick Muhr.
2. What has been the most rewarding experience of your training and/or fundraising so far? I love Saturday morning long runs with my MMP teammates and with the inspirational Coach Rick Muhr. Plus anytime I can raise money for youth organizations such as MMP I feel great knowing I made a positive difference in this world.
3. Tell me about your mentee! Danielson is now 21 and works as an IT Analyst for American Tower in Woburn. Plus he’s going back to college to get an associate degree. He also took up running and ran the BAA half-marathon this past summer! We’ve been “brothers” (through Big Brothers Big Sisters of Massachusetts Bay) since 2003 and the only thing I can say up to this point is that mentoring WORKS.
4. What do you think is the most important thing a mentor can do for a child? Have absolutely no agenda. Just go in and listen and then offer gentle guidance. Lastly, stick with it. Don’t give up on the kid, EVER.
5. What is the best piece of advice a mentor can give? “Your future is going to be bright. I’ll help you and will always get your back, little bro.”
6. Complete this sentence: When I finish the Marathon, I will feel…Humble and deeply proud that the hard work paid off. 

If you would like to read more about Alexis or make a donation to his fundraising, please visit http://www.razoo.com/story/Alexis-Avila-S-Return-Quest-To-Take-On-Heartbreak-Hill

Meet the match: Jose and Jesse

For the ninth consecutive year, New England’s World Champion Nose Tackle Vince Wilfork and The Safety Insurance 98.5 The Sports Hub New England Patriots Radio Network have teamed up with Mass Mentoring Partnership, to ensure that more young people are connected to caring adult mentors who will listen to them, stand by them and guide them. As a part of this initiative, Wilfork and 98.5 have extended invitations to mentor/mentee matches in the MMP network to attend a home game, and MMP chooses a match for each game based on the most compelling stories submitted. On game day, chosen matches are met by Bianca Wilfork and 98.5 The Sports Hub.

This is a highlight of a match that attended a home game this season.

10-year-old Jose Burgos attended his first-ever Patriots game on Nov. 11 with his mentor Jesse Lockwood. They’ve been matched almost two years through Big Brothers Big Sisters of Massachusetts Bay.

Jose had been dealing with tough personal issues when he was matched with Jesse. Over time though, Jesse has been able to provide stability and consistency in Jose’s life.

“I strive to teach Jose patience and kindness all while maintaining a fun friendship,” Jesse says. “I have seen his confidence grow tremendously over the last year alone.”

Jesse says that his match relationship has taught him about responsibility, patience, and consideration. He feels that Jose has learned from him, too!

“I think Jose has learned trust, patience and appreciation,” Jesse says. “He is always considerate when we go out. He counts on me to be there when I say I will, and I count on him to talk to and have fun with!”

Their favorite activities involve the outdoors – playing football, baseball and soccer. They’ve also toured Fenway, visited the aquarium and spend their time talking and having fun.

The two plan to stay in contact no matter what, and Jesse says he would love to be a permanent presence in Jose’s life. In fact, their relationship has been so mutually beneficial that Jesse is now working on getting his other friends to become Big Brothers!

Concludes Jesse, “My wish for Jose is to do well in school and go to college.”

As one of the largest adult-to-child mentoring organizations in the nation, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Massachusetts Bay currently serves close to 2,000 youth in one-to-one relationships, with a service area encompassing 155 cities and towns throughout the Massachusetts Bay area. For more information: www.bbbsmb.org.

How Mass Mentoring Counts can benefit your program

Mass Mentoring Counts (MMC) is a biennial statewide youth mentoring survey in Massachusetts,  conducted for MMP by the Donahue Institute at the University of Massachusetts, which reveals mentoring trends, gaps and program practices. In preparation for the release of the 2012 MMC survey to programs, we asked some programs to share how past MMC surveys have been helpful. Today’s guest post is from Wendy Foster, President & CEO at Big Brothers Big Sisters of Massachusetts Bay (BBBSMB).

Mass Mentoring Counts has been an invaluable source of information for our agency, helping us to “build our case” for funding and as a planning tool.

In 2010, BBBSMB engaged in a strategic planning process and took a fresh look at our entire program of service. Mass Mentoring Counts helped us to better understand how mentoring was impacting children in our service area – how many children were being mentored, what kind of mentoring services they were receiving, and where these programs were located. This information enabled us to identify opportunities to increase our impact and serve more children in communities with unmet youth development needs.

Our current five-year plan relies heavily on information gained from Mass Mentoring Counts, in combination with reports from other key sources (like the US Census), and our own internal data.

It’s now almost impossible to imagine what our funding proposals might look like without the influence of Mass Mentoring Counts. We cite countless statistics from the report – youth demographics, the proportion of boys versus girls being served, the number of children engaged in one-to-one mentoring friendships, and many more. Mass Mentoring Counts gives us the “big picture” and also helps us to communicate the subtle nuances of our service area.

Quality mentoring strengthens family relationships

As part of our 20 Challenges in 2012 initiative to celebrate Mass Mentoring’s 20th anniversary, we are releasing a series of challenges to address key goals of mentoring in Massachusetts. Goal six is 20 ways that communities grow with mentoring. The Highland Street Corps Ambassadors of Mentoring have researched 20 ways that mentoring provides positive social benefits that strengthen schools, families and communities. You can read more about their findings here.

This guest post is from Julie Muller, an Ambassador at Big Brothers Big Sisters of Massachusetts Bay.

In mentoring relationships, there are many tangible improvements that a mentee can see, such as improvement in grades or improved behavior in school. Mentoring, however, has shown that it can improve another aspect of a mentee’s life: his or her relationship with parents.

Within the mentoring field, research has illustrated the impact of mentoring relationships on youth’s family relationships. According to Lisa Bottomley, mentoring has numerous outcomes that can include improved intimacy, communication, and trust between youth and parents. Families can benefit from a mentoring relationship in many ways, as it often decreases stressors for the family and also teaches the youth more effective communication skills that help family dynamics.

The report, Making a Difference: An Impact Study on Big Brothers Big Sisters found that the quality of a youth’s relationship with his or her custodial parent increased following program participation, especially among white Little Brothers.

Big Brothers Big Sisters found through their Youth Outcome Survey that 72.6% of community-based matches saw improvement in parental trust and 65.6% of youth in school based matches saw improvement. Community-based matches saw improvement after one year and school-based matches saw improvement in parental trust after two years

Mentoring can also change the way families view the mentee as they gain different relationship skills throughout the match, which enhances relationships. Developing a relationship with an adult who is not family related can have a positive effect on a mentee’s ability to communicate. It can increase self-esteem for the mentee, which could directly translate into better communication between mentee and parents.

Another important factor is longevity of the mentoring relationship. Having a sustainable mentoring relationship is integral in being able to see positive results from the match. Data from Big Brothers Big Sisters Youth Outcome Survey show that youth in two-year matches saw greater improvements than youth in one-year matches. Many mentees come from an at-risk home and have yet to experience a sustainable relationship with an adult. Studies have shown that mentors can have a detrimental effect on the mentee if it lasts less than a year. To be able to improve familial relationships, a match must be sustainable and contain an open communication throughout all match parties.

Improving relationships within the youth’s life, research has shown, can lead to improvement in academics (including higher graduation rates) and a decrease in risky behaviors, according to the Youth Outcome Survey. These improvements can benefit the families of our communities and, in turn, our communities themselves.

Source: Strengthening Youth-Parent Relationships Through Mentoring By: Lisa Bottomley. Michigan State University Extension  (2012). Retrieved from: Michigan State University Extension

Source: Making a Difference: An Impact Study of Big Brothers Big Sisters By: Joseph P. Tierney, Jean Baldwin Grossman, with Nancy L. Resch (1995). Retrieved from: Making a Difference

Source: Big Brothers Big Sisters’ Youth Outcome Report: Executive Summary, January 2012. Retrieved from: Big Brothers Big Sisters’ Youth Outcome Report