Local Education Foundations
Eight Steps Your LEF Can Take To Promote Mentoring
The Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence is encouraging Oklahoma’s 200 Local Education Foundations to become leading advocates for mentoring in Oklahoma’s public schools.
OFE founder and chairman David L. Boren has challenged LEF leaders to help “harness the goodness” of Oklahomans by mobilizing volunteers in their communities to mentor students in need. Inspired by Boren’s vision and the proven impact of mentoring on academic success, the foundation launched the David and Molly Boren Mentoring Initiative to promote the growth and development of school-based mentoring programs throughout the state.
One of the initiative’s primary goals is to promote mentoring as an integral part of its Local Education Foundation (LEF) Outreach program. Jennifer Geren, director of the mentoring initiative, says that LEF leaders are in a key position to advocate for mentoring in their communities. Geren says there are numerous ways an LEF can get involved.
1. Familiarize yourself with the mentoring initiative and the resources available to schools, community leaders and prospective volunteers by visiting the mentoring Web site at www.okmentors.org.
2. Help the Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence identify mentoring programs that already exist in your community so that we can add them to our online directory and help your community recruit more volunteers. Existing programs can register through the mentoring Web site.
3. Write a letter to the editor of your local paper encouraging community members to become mentors. Include a list of local mentoring programs in your area for the paper to publish (visit the mentoring website and click on “Oklahoma Mentoring Programs” to find your community).
4. Talk to school administrators at both the elementary and secondary levels to assess the need for mentoring in your school district. Are there already programs in existence? If so, could your foundation help in recruiting volunteers to serve in those programs? If not, could your foundation be involved in establishing a program?
5. Encourage local businesses, churches, civic groups and retiree organizations to “adopt” schools by providing volunteers who are available to mentor weekly with students.
6. Organize a community mentoring summit or help arrange for mentor training by contacting the Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence at (405) 236-0006. We have a list of experts who can speak in your community about how to establish safe and effective mentoring programs.
7. Attend an OFE mentoring workshop to learn more about how to establish a quality program. You can also attend the mentoring session at this year’s Fall Forum.
8. Become a mentor! Research has demonstrated that mentoring improves student learning, increases self-esteem and helps students develop healthier relationships. Demonstrate your foundation’s belief in the power of mentoring by encouraging your board members to become mentors.
“Reaching out to the children in your community through mentoring will help support and market the fundraising efforts of the LEF by increasing visibility in the community,” Geren said. “This is a win-win commitment for the foundation, the mentor and the student.”
For more information, contact Jennifer Geren at 405-410-1523 or by email at jgeren@ofe.org.