Teammates Mentoring Program
Kansas Mentors

 

 

 

 

Coaches' Mentoring Challenge Overview

The Goal:
The National Mentoring Partnership has identified 15 million children in our nation that are in need of caring and quality mentors.   Thousands of these children live in Nebraska and Kansas.  In an effort to help close this “mentoring gap”, former Coaches Tom Osborne and Bill Snyder, both mentoring advocates, have issued a friendly challenge to each other’s state to see which state (Kansas or Nebraska) can sign up the most new mentors this summer and fall.  

The Teams:
Both Coaches lead mentoring efforts in their states.  The competition will be overseen by these efforts:

Kansas Mentors, Coach Bill Snyder
Kansas Mentors, led by Coach Bill Snyder and Governor Kathleen Sebelius, is statewide mentoring initiative that’s mission is to provide every young Kansan access to a caring and quality mentor.

TeamMates Mentoring Program, Coach Tom Osborne
TeamMates, co-founded by Tom and Nancy Osborne, is a mentoring program whose mission is to positively impact the world by inspiring youth to reach their full potential through mentoring.

When will the winner be announced?
The winning state will be announced during the K-State Nebraska football game on November 15th, 2008.

What does the winning state receive?
The winning Coach will be presented with a traveling trophy during the game.

How will the competition be tracked?
Kansas Mentors and TeamMates will keep track of all volunteers signed up between June 12, 2008 and November 1, 2008 on their websites.  Volunteers that sign up directly with mentoring organizations affiliated with Kansas Mentors or those that sign-up with TeamMates will also be recorded. 

Will there be a way to see which state is winning during the challenge?
Periodic updates of each state’s totals will be made available on Teammates web site www.teammates.org and on Kansas Mentors web site www.kansasmentors.org.

How can volunteers sign up for the challenge?
There are three ways volunteers can sign up.

  1. They sign up online by visiting their state’s mentoring web site by clicking on the Coaches’ Challenge tab.

    1. In Kansas, www.kansasmentors.org
    2. In Nebraska or Iowa, www.teammates.org
  2. They can call their state’s mentoring organization directly to express an interest:
    1. In Kansas, (785) 296-8873
    2. In Nebraska or Iowa, 1-877-531-TEAM
  3. They can contact their local mentoring program directly and volunteer.  A list of Kansas mentoring organizations by county can be viewed at http://www.kansasmentors.org/partners.htm

Local TeamMates chapters can be found at http://www.teammates.org/chapters/

I’m already a mentor what else can I do to participate in the Challenge?
Yes. 

  1. You can encourage your family and friends to volunteer.
  2. You can get your employer involved in mentoring by contacting your state’s mentoring organization.

    1. In Kansas, www.kansasmentors.org or (785) 296-8873.
    2. In Nebraska or Iowa, www.teammates.org or 1-877-531-TEAM

How do Kansas Mentors partners submit their totals?
Programs can report their numbers to Kansas Mentors by e-mail at mentor@kdhe.state.ks.us or by phone (785) 296-8873

How often to Kansas Mentors partners have to submit their totals?
Monthly.  Please click here to report your totals.

The first report will be due July 14, 2008.  (This report will have the number of volunteers that signed up between June 12-30th.)

The second report will be due August 14, 2008. (This report should have the number of volunteers signed up between July 1-31).

The third report will be due September 14, 2008. (This report should have the number of volunteers signed up between August 1-31).

The fourth report will be due October 14, 2008. (This report should have the number of volunteers signed up between September 1-31).

The final report will be due November 1, 2008.  (This report should have all the volunteers signed up in October).

Why should my program submit its totals to Kansas Mentors?
By submitting your volunteer totals, you will be eligible for Kansas Mentors grants in FY 2010.  It will also make you eligible to become a Gold Star Program.

Will this competition take place again?

It is the intent of Kansas Mentors and TeamMates to make this competition an annual event.