Mentoring... The Core of ChalleNGe
The search for a positive role-model in the form of an adult mentor for each candidate begins before they even enter the Alabama National Guard Youth ChalleNGe Academy. Every student is matched with an Academy approved mentor for assistance and guidance. The mentor prospect is nominated by the student and his or her family / guardians.
To become a mentor you must:
- Be 25 years of age or older
- Be a resident of Alabama and citizen of the United States or legal resident
- Reside within a reasonable distance of the candidate
- Be same gender as the candidate
- Be unrelated to and not living in the same household as the candidate
A mentor must be willing to:
- Agree to a criminal background check
- Attend one Mentor Day to be held at Alabama National Guard Youth ChalleNGe Academy (see more)
- Make weekly contacts by phone or mail with your candidate after you have been trained and matched while candidate is at Alabama National Guard Youth ChalleNGe Academy (see more)
- Make weekly contacts by phone, mail, or face-to-face with your cadet after they complete the Residential portion of the program (see more)
- Mail or e-mail a monthly report to Alabama National Guard Youth ChalleNGe Academy on the progress of your cadet
- Complete a CAN (Child Abuse and Neglect Report) Report
Mentoring relationships are many things, more notable for their differences than for their similarities.
Mentoring is a particular kind of relationship in which a person with identified abilities or competencies enables another to develop his / her own abilities and talents. Alabama National Guard Youth ChalleNGe mentors reveal opportunities to youths that they might not otherwise have been exposed.
Mentoring is also a close personal relationship, in which persons work together to achieve agreed upon goals.
Mentoring is a mutual relationship that allows mentors and mentees to derive satisfaction from their alliance.
Alabama National Guard Youth ChalleNGe Academy views mentoring as a supportive one-to-one relationship between an adult and an at-risk youth developed to facilitate the youth's educational, social and personal growth, for the youth to become a responsible, productive and contributing member of his or her community and of society as a whole.
Each class of the Academy consists of 17-1/2 months in three phases. The first is the Pre-ChalleNGe, the most difficult 2 weeks of the program. The second phase is the Residential Phase, and the third phase, Post-Residential is the year of aftercare. During the residential phase the adult mentor visits the candidate, writes letters, attends special events, tutors and takes the candidate on pass. This caring, responsible adult friendship increases the candidate's chance for continued success.
During the one year of aftercare (which follows the graduation from the residential phase), the mentor and cadet continue regular weekly contact by face-to-face visits, telephone, letter and email. Both the cadet and the mentor send reports monthly to the aftercare office reporting the cadet's placement on the job or in school.
The encouragement and support provided by the mentors are an important part of each cadet's success in work and school and sustaining the life-style changes made in the residential phase.
To qualify to be a mentor the adult chosen must be over the age of 25, the same gender as the candidate, and be able to pass a background clearance. Many candidates in the past have asked a godparent, church youth group leader or pastor, former employer, or father or mother of a friend to be their mentor.
The Youth ChalleNGe Program is now the second largest mentoring program in the nation. The National Mentoring Partnership has awarded "The Excellence in Mentoring Award" for Program Leadership to the National Guard Youth ChalleNGe Program for its mentoring accomplishments.
