Tuesday, October 29, 2013

WB: Have we met?

What another amusing and thrilling day with our WB mentors and mentees! From engaging in a little “back-to-back” activity to a small group discussion, the excitement does not end with this crowd. As some approach their final days as being “mentor-less” or “mentee-less”, we can only imagine the anticipation for this day to arrive. Please be prepared for more enjoyment to come with our WB mentoring program!

Friday, October 25, 2013

BEATS 2013 Meet and Greet

YMC would like to introduce BEATS as one of our new programs we’re working with this year. The staff at Beats, as well as the amazing students from the Youth Justice Coalition/Free LA High School and Los Angeles Trade Tech College Prep, had lots of fun. They shared a few laughs together and played a few get-to-know-you games with each other. We had so much fun at the meet and greet, you wouldn't have guessed we had just meet each other. This is going to be a great year-Yay!

Nothing Like Some Good Ol' Human Bingo...

The wait is over! After strategic torture and long hours spent at Informational Sessions, Training's, and a Meet & Greet, mentees have met their match. Youth Mentoring Connection is proud to present HBO's 2013-2014 mentoring program!

Thursday, October 24, 2013

Paramount / Helen Bernstein Matches Revealed!

"Yes!" was the resounding response to the YMC staff question, "Are you happy with your mentor matches?" This Tuesday, all of our mentors from Paramount and mentees from Helen Bernstein High School and STEM Academy of Hollywood met to find out what the new pairings would be. After a large game of Human Bingo, where everyone scrambled to identify who corresponded with which fun fact, the mentor/mentee match-ups were revealed. We're very excited about the record-breaking 33 matches we've made this year... Off we go!

Paramount LeConte Meet and Greet 10-15-13

This year at our LeConte middle school mentoring program, the mentors from Paramount got their first opportunity to meet the new and returning mentees. The session began with a giant get-to-know you game with almost 60 participants quickly matching up with those sharing a common characteristic. We then split into two groups where mentors and mentees rotated around asking each other more in-depth questions, getting to know everyone on a deeper level. We were excited to see so many returning faces and welcome those who are new for what will surely be an exciting year!

Viacom Matching Session

Our Viacom program started this year with a bang! Mentees and mentors found out who they were matched with by playing an interactive and fun game of “Human Bingo.” We had asked our mentors and mentees to provide us with fun facts about themselves, and now they had to match the funny fact with the correct individual. Mentors and mentees had a blast as they tried to figure out who fit the correct bingo description. The most interesting one was from our mentee Domingo, who shared that he had been raised by a wild pack of chinchillas that he then had to eat in order to survive. As we closed the session, matches shared funny and embarrassing stories about each other. Stay tuned to see our next crazy session !!!!

Thursday, October 17, 2013

CHLA: It's so hard to say GOODBYE!

While most of YMC's programs are starting up, our CHLA Hollywood program came to a closure. I can attest that this was a bitter-sweet day. As mentors and mentees reflected and expressed their experience, it became apparent that we all were in the “right place at the right time”. It was an honor to witness mentors role-modeling healthy closure for our youth... Which is one of the greatest gifts money cannot buy! Although many mentees did not express their gratitude verbally in front of the whole group, most of us heard an occasional “thank you”. My hope is that every mentor is aware of their impact not only on the mentees, but on this program. We thank each and every mentor for their patience and commitment to this program. Hope to see most (if not all) of you in the winter of 2014... Live, Love, & Laugh!

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

WB: 13 years and counting...

Yesterday’s session was another amazing and awe-inspiring day … what a great start for Fall 2013 with our WB Mentors and Mentees! As usual we kicked off WB with what we like to call a "Meet & Greet” activity for the thirteenth time, yes you heard correctly… thirteenth time!  Nevertheless, after having a partnership with WB for 13 years it felt innovative all over again. “Returners” were reunited and “Newbies” were introduced to one another. This activity was so great it has to be done again!Stay tuned for more excitement to come!

Tuesday, October 15, 2013

HBO's 2013 - 2014 Meet & Greet

Showing up to HBO with new mentees last week was nothing less than fun! Ooh's, Aah's and occasional Wow's filled the elevator... Mentees couldn't fathom that they could potentially walk past actors, producers, or musicians let alone met some cool HBO employees. Their excitement was through the roof even before they had a chance to set foot in the community room so I knew it was going to be a good day!

Friday, October 11, 2013

Viacom Meet & Greet 2013-2014

This past Wednesday was the start of our Viacom mentoring program. We gathered our youth, mentors, and YMC staff at the Bergamot Station Café in Santa Monica. New mentors and mentees had a chance to bond by participating in various activities, while returning mentors and mentees spent some quality time catching up. It was exciting to see everyone have fun and get along. We are looking forward to future sessions and the development of our new community.