by Mabel Jane

Created on: February 05, 2009

Volunteering has its own built-in rewards, but it is always nice to know your work is appreciated. Mentors in youth mentoring programs give their time, energy and knowledge to help prepare a better future for a child. Apart from the reason that every unselfish job deserves a thank-you, there are many incentives for showing your appreciation is a must. Mentors are a crucial component to the success of a mentoring program. You need mentors to have a program! A mentor who feels unappreciated or unsupported will not want to continue on in the program. Not only will your program lose a mentor, but so will a deserving child. Research shows that early match termination may be more damaging to the child. To some, it is just another adult walking out on them.

Mentors are also helpful to a mentoring program because they help with recruitment. Many mentoring programs get mentors because they have been referred by a friend or family member who is a mentor. When someone has a bad experience, they will tell more people than if they have a good one. You would rather want your mentor to tell a few people of a great experience than tell a lot of people about a bad one. Also, your support will help the mentors feel good about what they are doing and feel responsible for getting others involved in doing good work, too.

There are many ways to recognize your mentors' good work. Thank you cards and letters are always a great start. Halfway through their commitment or usually around six months, send your mentors a card or note to thank them for their commitment to the program. If your program does not have a large amount of mentors, hand written notes show that you put your time and consideration to thank them. At the end of their commitment or after one year, give your mentors an appreciation certificate and small gift. Many mentoring programs hold recognition events at the completion of a one-year commitment. Many recognition events include dinner and an awards ceremony. Some programs pick and award a "Mentor of the Year."

You can also recognize an outstanding mentor each month in a newsletter that is sent out to program participants or write to a local newspaper and have them do a story on one of the relationships in your program. Helping the program as well, you can have a mentor tell his or her story at a recruitment presentation or use a mentor to facilitate a training session.

To make mentors feel important, make sure to send them birthday cards and holiday cards with signatures

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