WHY DO OUR YOUTH NEED A MENTOR?

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In today’s modern day and age the world around us changes in the blink of an eye. With the dawn of digitalisation the present generation youth have been labelled as ‘techno-savvy’. Their ability to constantly use the internet, smartphones and social media as a proxy for real world social interaction has had a significant impact on their outer world experiences.. Numerous studies show that today’s youth struggle to make the transition from studenthood to the professional world. On the positive side, these studies also show that this generation is more optimistic, has greater caring for the planet and is willing to spend discretionary energy in pursuit of a purpose-driven mission. 

 

Young adults are concerned with the daunting tasks of defining themselves, learning essential life skills, and evaluating their career options. Quite often, they have few positive role models when trying to decide a life course and have little support to pursue their dreams. At times the heros who these youth look up to may have negative influences. Even the simplest matters like focus on academics could become a struggle due to constraints in their circumstances. What these youth need is a trustworthy person to turn to with their doubts, someone to motivate them to excel and someone who can equip them with the right tools for success. 

 

A mentor can provide this vital support. Now, more than ever, a program like Take Charge Mentoring can play an important role in stewarding the experience and outlook of our youth during the formative years of their lives. 
We have conducted four mentoring batches so far, covering close to 400 mentoring relationships and the fourth cohort, which was launched in July 2020 with almost 150 mentoring relationships completed its tenure in March 2022. Mentees are Catholic youth between the ages of 16 and 24 years and based in Mumbai.

 

The fifth cohort of Take Charge mentoring started in June-July 2022. The process of selecting mentees and enrolling new mentors will commence at the end of 2023

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WHO IS A MENTOR?

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A mentor is a friend who envisions the dreams in their mentee’s heart and adds flight to their mentee’s wings to enable them to reach their dreams. With every small step taken by a mentee, a dream is achieved. It could be 

• A smile that speaks confidence

• A resume that shines through

• A clear vision of opportunities at the horizon

• A roadmap to their dream destination 

 

The mentor is expected to use every opportunity to stretch the mentee’s goals and challenge his/her self-beliefs so that the mentee is inspired to achieve goals that he/she never thought were possible earlier.

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PURPOSE AND PRINCIPLES OF MENTORING

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The purpose of Take Charge mentoring is to tap into the existing knowledge, skills, and experience of qualified professionals and share them with the young and less experienced youth of the Catholic community. We aim towards establishing a successful mentoring equation by creating a relationship of trust, clearly defining roles and responsibilities, establishing short- and long-term goals, using open and supportive communication, and collaboratively solving problems.

 

In our mentoring journey at Take Charge, an experienced professional helps the mentee develop her/his goals and skills through a series of confidential, one-on-one conversations. The mentoring relationship is based on the principles of trust, mutual respect, sensitivity and confidentiality. It is a stepwise incremental process which improves and blossoms thus, nurturing young minds to appreciate their blessings and aspire to achieve goals they never thought were possible earlier. 

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WHAT ARE THE QUALITIES OF A GREAT MENTOR?

 

A few attributes that are needed to be a very effective mentor are listed below:

• Ability to build strong bonds and connections with a young person, at his/her level.

• Maintain confidentiality and build a trusted relationship with your mentee

• Someone who leads by example

• Positive role model in all aspects of your life

• Being a friend especially when your mentee is going through a difficult personal situation

• Adaptability to move with the mentee’s often rapidly changing needs

• Ability to listen at all levels, including non-verbal communication and what is not being said.

• Empathy to understand your mentee’s circumstances and viewpoints, which may be very different from yours

• Humility to share your failures and the learnings from them

• Resource broker & opportunity creator for your mentee, through your own contacts and tapping into the networks of other mentors

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WHAT IS THE PROFILE OF A GREAT MENTOR FOR TAKE CHARGE

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We are looking for individuals who are based in Mumbai, at least 35 years of age and …

• Are passionate about the cause of mentoring young adults.

• Have excelled in any field, personally or professionally.

• Are of impeccable character with the highest standards of ethics.

• Are willing and able to invest around an average of 2 hours a month for mentoring sessions.

• Have a lot of empathy & resilience to build strong chemistry with a young person who may be from a different background, socially or economically.

• Clear intent to nurture and connect with another human being in a mentor-coaching relationship.

• Half of our mentees are female and since we prefer to gender match the mentor-mentee pairs, we welcome applications from female mentors. Since several mentees live in the more distant suburbs of Mumbai as well as in Thane and Navi Mumbai, we are looking for new mentors who live in these areas. Mentors can be from any religion or community, as long as they are aligned with Take Charge’s mission.

 

MENTOR APPLICATION FORM

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Please fill in the brief form (click here) so that we can record your interest to be part of the mentoring program for 2024-2025.