Youth Mentorship: Opportunities for Corporate Social Responsibility

By: Kathryn Kavanagh

Youth mentorship and community outreach not only enriches your local community but also benefits your organization as a whole. Mentors can offer guidance, support, and advice that can be instrumental in shaping a mentee’s future.

Through youth mentoring, employees get an opportunity to participate in volunteerism while also benefiting their company.

“We know that employees, particularly young talent, want to volunteer and they want to work for organizations that are community focused.” Explained President and CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metro Atlanta, Kwame Johnson.

Youth mentorship programs offer numerous benefits to both the mentees and the mentors. Mentors have the opportunity to make a positive impact on someone else’s life, while also developing or reaffirming their own skills and expanding their professional networks

For both mentors and their mentees, it is important for individuals and organizations to champion and participate in youth mentorship programs to enrich themselves, local communities, and their mentees.

Big Brother Big Sisters

At Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metro Atlanta, they support mentoring within their school, community, and beyond.

Big Brothers Big Sisters of metro Atlanta is a mentorship and training organization focused on connecting mentors and mentees to help middle and high school kids get one-on-one support and encouragement.

Through the “Beyond School Walls” program, high schools can partner with corporate organizations to foster mentoring relationships between high schoolers and employees to learn about college readiness and career opportunities.

Students can visit a company’s office space and gain valuable knowledge about the organization and profession. Partner companies involved in this relationship have the opportunity to participate in community outreach as well as encourage and support students in their community.

Organizational Benefits

With youth mentoring, students get an opportunity to really see what an organization is like, which helps a company get exposure and interest for young talent.

By participating in youth mentorship programs, companies have the opportunity to find and develop new talent, engage and give back to their communities, and engage their employees in meaningful outreach and volunteerism.

Mentors can inspire and motivate young people by sharing their own experiences and successes. They can also provide guidance on how to overcome challenges and obstacles, which can help young people develop resilience and selfconfidence.

“Youcanshowyouremployeesthatyou’reagreatcorporate citizenandinvolvedwithvolunteerism,youngmillennialslove that,and[youthmentoring]canalsohelpyousolvepipeline issues overtime.”said Johnson.

By investing in your community, you can not only have a direct positive impact, but you can also show your support of education, social responsibility, and empowering the future workforce.

Individual Mentee Impact

“This type of program helps young people get out of high school, get into jobs, and helps them get out of poverty.” explained Johnson.

“Poverty is one of the biggest issues we face as a city, and as a country, because so many other bad things come out of it. We’re really solving some of the key issues in Atlanta by helping young people reach their full potential and graduate high school and get exposure to the work place,” said Johnson.

Youth mentorship programs help young people see corporate spaces and envision all the possibilities their futures hold. Many young people do not know all the opportunities out there, and mentors can help introduce them to careers they never thought of and can help bring new perspectives into an industry.

These experiences can also help young people in developing necessary skills for the workplace. Mentors can demonstrate and teach valuable skills such as communication, leadership, problem-solving, time management, and much more.

Demonstrating and explaining these skills can make an enormous difference in an emerging professional’s career. These skills are essential for success in any career and will benefit young people in the long term.

When companies pair their workforce with these young people, mentees gain access to new opportunities and ideas. Mentors are well positioned to offer career advise and suggested educational pursuits.

Perhaps one of the best features of these relationships comes through access and exposure to the professional networks this arrangement offers. It’s the old adage, “It’s not just what you know, it is who you know.”

This can be especially valuable for young people who may not have had access to such opportunities otherwise. Between networking opportunities, skill development, youth mentorship can have an enormous positive impact on young people in your community.

Personal Mentor Benefits

Youth mentorship not only helps students and your community, but it is also incredibly rewarding for a mentor to encourage their mentee and help them succeed. Mentors can gain a sense of fulfillment and satisfaction from watching their mentees flourish.

These programs can help develop their own leadership and communication skills, all while gaining a deeper understanding of the challenges emerging leaders face today.

Employees who engage in youth mentorship and professional mentorship have the opportunity to diversify their leadership skills which can contribute to their own professional development.

This opportunity helps give employees a chance to directly participate and encourage the youth in their communities. Mentors who participate in youth mentorship programs often become more engaged within their community.

By working with young people, mentors can gain a better understanding of the challenges facing their neighbors, and become better connected with the people and organizations working to address these challenges.

“This is something that is not only going to help a young person, but it’s also going to be very rewarding for you in your life, and I can personally speak to that being a mentor myself,” said Johnson.

ATL Year of the Youth

On Jan. 30, 2023, Mayor Andre Dickens of Atlanta declared that 2023 is the Year of the Youth in Atlanta. The goal of this program is to equip Atlanta’s children, youth, and young adults for success in their academic, professional, and personal journeys, and make Atlanta the best place to raise children in the country by 2030.

ATL Year of the Youth was created to ensure that Atlanta’s children, youth, and young adults have the resources needed to thrive.

This program seeks to empower Atlanta’s youth with a positive self-efficacy and the drive to be active and engaged residents through intentional, data-driven investments in education, enrichment and development, and education.

“MayorDickensannouncedthat2023istheYearoftheYouth inMetroAtlanta,andit’sallaboutyouth,andhe’saskingall companiestoleanintothisprogram.Wehavetohelpyoung peoplewininAtlanta,andwehavetodefendthepotentialof youngpeople,”said Johnson.

ATL Year of the Youth is built around four areas (from the ATL Year of the Youth Framework):

• Equitable Approaches to Engagement

• Customize outreach and engagement, prioritizing the needs of the targeted youth community and related key stakeholders.

• Mitigate barriers to active educational and community engagement so that all targeted stakeholders benefit from services.

• Education, Communication, and Access

• Coordinate with local education partners to identify and amplify resources to support best in class education, career and leadership training for youth communities and families with children and youth ages 0-24 years old.

• Ensure equitable access to information, via diverse communication regarding programming, resources, and services.

• Liaise with education partners to research and evaluate the root causes and identify solutions to actively engage underrepresented and underserved youth communities.

• Identify vehicles for stakeholder communication for the purposes of needs assessments, active engagement, communicating challenges, identifying solutions, discussing positive and negative impact data, and supporting mayoral initiatives.

• Coordinate efforts to ensure youth and families can access financial, digital, educational and physical resources.

• Enrichment and Development

• Identify opportunities for enhancements to existing City programming that fosters the development of children, youth and young adults.

• Create or identify experiences with stakeholders that build upon existing programs and resources to ensure youth-centered initiatives enhance and positively impact the youth’s development.

• Empowerment, Agency, and Leadership

• Support the engagement of youth communities in policy-making that impacts children, youth and young adults in an effort to promote independence, positive self-efficacy and the capacity to lead choice-filled lives.

• Invest in safe, strong neighborhoods to remove barriers to positive youth development.

• Create systems to provide space for advocacy and a sense of belonging and pride in an inclusive community.

• Develop independence and agency to pursue justice and leadership in all spaces.

ATL Year of the Youth is one of many youth mentorship programs throughout Georgia. Helping Georgia’s youths develop and flourish will help ensure Georgia remains the number one state for businesses, and will enable local communities to thrive and grow in the future.

Working with a youth mentoring program can bring in a wealth of benefits, both to mentees and mentors, here’s how you can get involved today.

How to Get Involved

The best way to get involved with youth mentoring is to research organizations in your community to learn more about their programs and outreach.

Youth mentorship is a unique experience for everyone who participates from the organization as a whole to the mentors and mentees which is why it is so important to understand the needs of your organization as well as the mentorship organization you are partnering with.

“Atlanta’syoungpeopleareourfuture.Continuingto investinfuturegenerationsputsthemonpathways tosuccessthatwillhelpusMoveAtlantaForward, together.AsMayor,I’mcommittedtomakingAtlanta thebestplaceinthecountrytoraiseafamily.”

Mayor Andre Dickens

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At Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metro Atlanta, Johnson says that their organization expects budgeting, time allocation, and an open mind from their partners.

When looking for youth mentorship opportunities, your company needs to be ready to commit to corporate social responsibility.

Getting involved with youth mentorship programs in your community not only promotes corporate social responsibility but also attracts and encourages employees to participate in volunteerism. Youth mentorship encourages and promotes leadership skills, community engagement, personal fulfillment and more.

As a mentee, students have the chance to develop their skills and talents for future opportunities, and learn more about the opportunities out there.

Youth mentorship programs offer numerous benefits to both the mentees and mentors, and between the Year of the Youth in Atlanta and the challenges facing many communities in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, there is no better time than now to get involved.

Learn more about youth mentoring by searching for organizations in your local community and get involved today.

Sources:

Kwame Johnson, President and CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metro Atlanta

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metro Atlanta | bbbsatl.org

ATL Year of the Youth Framework | https://www. atlyouthengage.com/

Become a Mentor Today

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metro Atlanta works with volunteers, parents, and families to create one-to-one mentorship relationships that inspire, defend, and empower the potential within every kid.

Scan the QR Code below to learn how you can get involved today.

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