Volunteer as a Mentor:
Opportunities in New York and New Jersey
Using the Scout search engine, with just a location and the word ‘mentor,’ we’ve uncovered dozens of opportunities for potential volunteers who are willing to mentor in New Jersey or New York. Whether you want to mentor children, teens, first generation college students, young professionals, or seniors – there is an organization that can pair you with a person who can benefit from your support.
Most programs require a 12-month commitment, but there are also short-term relationship programs. Here are a few examples:
Connections Mentor supports “young people with past, current, or peripheral contact with the child welfare or juvenile justice systems in New York City or Westchester County”
“Through a combination of private high school tuition assistance and mentoring support, the Student / Partner Alliance empowers high school students from Northern New Jersey’s urban areas to achieve success by attending strong academic and nurturing college preparatory high-schools.”
Bergen Volunteers coordinates Short-Term Mentoring, which asks volunteers to commit on a month-to-month basis to reach out to seniors on weekly phone conversations. They also seek Long-Term Mentors, who make a 12-month commitment to “empower youth and caregivers to achieve personal success.”
Female college students can mentor teens with Latinas On the Verge of Excellence (L.O.V.E.), helping young women throughout New York City “fulfill their personal and professional goals.“
Good Shepherd supports youth in foster care services throughout Brooklyn, Manhattan and the Bronx, offering a strengths-based mentoring program to “actively support, engage with, and champion their individual needs, goals, and interests.”
Mentor first-generation college students with ANY (America Needs You) in New York City, northern New Jersey, and Chicago. “As a Mentor Coach, you will cultivate your Fellow’s strengths, help them secure internships, and overcome obstacles. You will also build your leadership skills, grow your network, and find mentorship and community amongst hundreds of other Mentor Coaches.”
OBT (Opportunities for a Better Tomorrow) helps youth and adults break the cycle of poverty. Mentors advise participants “in an emerging professional context. Mentors advise about a specific sector and the educational, networking, and skills requirements of breaking into that sector.”
High school students can become a Buddy with the Shining Stars Network, a charity providing performing arts opportunities for the special needs community across seven New Jersey counties. As a Buddy, volunteers “mentor our stars through rehearsals and help them perform on stage.”
If you are a family member of someone with a mental health illness, “use your valuable lived experience to support another family member” through NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) in New York City. A “Family Match Mentor provides one-to-one support over the phone for 3 months [to] someone in the same relationship, loving someone with similar symptoms or diagnoses.”
Grand Street Settlement, with locations across New York, Brooklyn and Queens, offers young professionals an opportunity through Juniors Undertaking Manhattan’s Possibilities (JUMP!) “to make lifelong connections with youth via monthly engagement opportunities. Relationships are cultivated through day-long trips and service projects.”
