I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.
Maya Angelou
Mentorship
Why the focus on mentorship for the Foundation?
Over the years, the Foundation’s literacy programs have benefited from youth volunteers who have actively requested mentorship and professional advice. In response, the Foundation created a Stepping with Youth - 360 Framework which aligns with international youth development principles. The development of framework has also led to new, innovative gender-focused mentoring program currently being implemented in Police Youth Club settings with broad application across a multiplicity of NGO settings and sectors. The Foundation’s Enviromentor program also supports our previous engagement with university students who created environmental books with legacy support from authors including our current engagement of young adults who are motivated to give back to their communities to support environmental sustainability efforts in their communities.
Our Mentorship Focus
Holistic and Full Circle Mentorship
Bridge Foundation’s - BRIDGEMENTOR360 name describes the intentionality of addressing mentorship in full circle - 360 degrees - allowing youth to take full advantage of opportunities and to gather knowledge, to learn evidenced-based skills, and to receive peer support, role modelling and expert advice from one-on-one mentor relationships for their personal growth, decision-making and leadership development.
Gender-focused
Men as Mentors for Boys and Young Men with Promise (‘Men as Mentors’) provides mentorship for growth and self-development for young men in Trinidad and Tobago. The Foundation’s programme will be replicated nationwide and was first introduced as a pilot to St. James Police Youth club with fifty-six (56) boys and young men ages thirteen (13) to twenty (20) participating at in a Police Youth Club. Youth at the club have demonstrated resiliency through personal challenges and possess assets to be acknowledged, nurtured and strengthened.
The Men as Mentors program strengthens youth mentees resilience and self-confidence through strategic and intentional mentorship by men with the support of women and their community. Men as Mentors builds upon youth strengths and links them to local resources and services.
The WoMentor360 is the newest initiative of the Foundation and will focus on young women and women working in partnership to support each other’s growth and development through self-development mentorship, targeted leadership, empowerment, and succession planning supports with all sectors.
Ensuring environmental sustainability through mentorship
EnviroMentor360 is a vehicle that passes on environmental best practice knowledge, lessons learned and tested strategies through mentorship. Mentees learn the importance of environmental protection, carbon reduction, agricultural practices, food security, advocacy and self-development practices to improve personal and community well-being.
This Bridge Foundation Programme is currently funded by US Embassy of Port of Spain and has piloted the programme at St. James Police Youth Club to create a positive environmental footprint among our nation’s youth through mentorship, environmental stewardship, agricultural practice and entrepreneurship.
Join BridgeMentor 360
BridgeMentor360 builds upon the experience of legacy professionals who have worked in various sectors and are willing to share their knowledge and skills with young adults entering into the field of work.
The theory is simple: As mentees are mentored by legacy professionals, these young adult mentees will in turn mentor others in their respective communities.
In Picture: Children’s author, Stacey Alfonso-Mills, as a Legacy Mentor, demonstrates to UWI-DCFA’s inspiring young adult authors how to design Read to Rise (R2R) children’s books.
