Utah Federation for Youth

Utah Federation for Youth invites both youth and adults to get involved in its service activities throughout the year. Working with youth is a rewarding experience. At UFY, several events and programs are dependent on volunteer support. 

If you are interested, please submit your online application today!

Become a Mentor 

UFY is searching for volunteer mentors to assist students during several afterschool programs. Program activities include tutoring in reading and math, doing recreational activities, performing community service-learning projects, developing life and social skills, and—of course—lots of laughter!

You can help UFY respond to the needs of an increasingly diverse population of young people growing up in Salt Lake City. Programs include Project Guuleysi, a program designed help Utah’s young refugees succeed, and EnviroLeaders, a program where the youth educate the community about environmental issues.

As a mentor to youth in our community, you will discover an extremely rewarding experience. The requirements are simple. Working with youth requires a caring and committed adult who is responsible and a good listener. Although volunteering as a mentor requires a commitment of your time and energy, you will find this experience to be a fun and enjoyable way to spend your valuable time, with the added benefit of helping others.

Remember: Mentoring not only helps the child you mentor, but it gives our community a better chance of creating healthy and contributing adults.

Please submit your application online now!

About Mentoring

(Excerpted from www.mentoring.org)

A matter of trust. Mentoring is a structured and trusting relationship that brings young people together with caring individuals who offer guidance, support and encouragement aimed at developing the competence and character of the mentee. A mentor is an adult who, along with parents, provides a young person with support, counsel, friendship, reinforcement and constructive example. Mentors are good listeners, people who care, people who want to help young people bring out strengths that are already there. A mentor is not a foster parent, therapist, parole officer, or cool peer. All young people have the potential to succeed in life and contribute to society. All children have the potential to succeed in life and contribute to society. However, not all children get the support they need to thrive.

By all estimates, an astounding 17.6 million young people – nearly half the population of young people between 10 and 18 years of age – live in situations that put them at risk of not living up to their potential. Without immediate intervention by caring adults, they could make choices that not only undermine their futures, but, ultimately, the economic and social well-being of our nation.

Mentoring – the presence of caring adults offering support, advice, friendship, reinforcement and constructive examples – has proved to be a powerful tool for helping young people fulfills their potential.
Mentoring can help by:

• Improving young people’s attitudes towards their parents, peers and teachers;
• Encouraging students to stay motivated and focused on their education;
• Providing a positive way for young people to spend free time;
  Helping young people face daily challenges; and
• Offering young people opportunities to consider new career paths and get much-needed economic skills and knowledge.

By using your influence and resources as a decision maker, you can bring new hope to young lives through the power of mentoring. And you'll be surprised how much you will benefit, as well.

How Mentoring Helps

At its most basic level, mentoring helps because it guarantees a young person that there is someone who cares about them. A child is not alone in dealing with their day-to-day worries.

Think back. Did you know how to study for a test or make plans for college? Do you remember wanting your first car or looking for a part-time job? Simple things that seem easy or straightforward to you now may appear to be a complete mystery to a young person.

Mentors provide their mentees with an experienced friend who is always ready to help in any number of different situations.

Support for education

• Mentors help keep students in school.
• Students who meet regularly with their mentors are 52% less likely than their peers to skip a day of school and 37% less likely to skip a class (Public/Private Ventures study of Big Brothers Big Sisters).
• Mentors help with homework and can improve academic skills.

Support with day-to-day living

• Mentors help improve a young person's self-esteem.
• Mentors provide support for students trying new behaviors.
• Youth who meet regularly with their mentors are 46% less likely than their peers to start using illegal drugs and 27% less likely to start drinking (Public/Private Ventures study of Big Brothers Big Sisters).
• About 40% of teenager's waking hours are spent without companionship or supervision. Mentors provide teens with a valuable place to spend free time.
• Mentors teach young people how to relate well to all kinds of people and help young people strengthen their communication skills.

Support in the workplace

• Mentors help young people set career goals and start taking steps to realize them.
• Mentors can use their personal contacts to help young people meet industry professionals, find internships and locate job possibilities.
• Mentors introduce young people to professional resources and organizations they may not know about.
• Mentors can help their mentees learn how to seek and keep jobs.

The number of ways mentoring can help a youth are as varied as the participants involved in each program. While the lists and statistics can be impressive, take a look at two very different personal accounts of two very different mentoring success stories.