Mentor

When you become a mentor with SOHO, we ask you to meet our girls where they are and guide them to where they want to be. Along the way, you will both develop new skills, be challenged in unexpected ways, and have some fun.

Before we match you with one of our girls, we want to make sure SOHO is the right match for you. If after reading The Mentor Commitment, you decide SOHO is the right fit for you, please sign up below to attend an information session. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us at mentor@spaceofherown.org.

 

The Mentor Commitment

Being a mentor means being there for a child.

As a SOHO mentor, you must be able to attend a meeting one night a week, either Tuesday or Wednesday, from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. during the school year and less formally during summer months. The minimum commitment is 12 months.

Our volunteer mentors are required to be positive adult role models and live or work in D.C. Metro or Northern Virginia. No special skills are necessary; training is provided. Our goal is for you to form a lasting bond with your mentee, so we ask that all SOHO mentors plan on living in the area for the foreseeable future.

We hope that your mentoring relationship will continue after the first year as your mentee transitions into middle school and beyond.

We aspire for every relationship to last throughout the middle school years and beyond. If you decide to continue your relationship beyond the initial program year, you will receive continuing support from SOHO program staff.  SOHO Club provides suggested activities and monthly meetings.

 

Role of a SOHO Mentor

Being a mentor means doing the little things, because someday, they’ll lead to really big things.

During the first year of the program, SOHO plans and organizes weekly meetings so you can concentrate on building a bond with your mentee. After getting to know your mentee for a few months, you are encouraged to do things together outside of SOHO’s formal meetings.

Every week you show up on time and have dinner with your mentee, you listen, and you build the foundations for a transformational relationship. You and your mentee will nurture each other’s creativity and find common interests. You will pursue activities that you both enjoy, and will learn to celebrate moments of discovery and self-expression together.

SOHO mentors:

  • Help girls develop positive self-esteem and confidence in their unique abilities
  • Encourage girls as they participate in arts, carpentry, and other STEAM-related activities
  • Help girls identify their strengths and the resilience to succeed despite obstacles
  • Expose girls to new activities, experiences and career paths
  • Guide girls to cultivate strong sense of responsibility for their actions
  • Model behaviors that will help develop strong characters
  • Demonstrate the skills necessary to build healthy relationships
  • Provide girls with a sense of belonging

 

Characteristics of a SOHO Mentor

Being a mentor means helping your mentee establish and achieve her own goals

Before deciding to become a mentor with SOHO, there are some important questions that we encourage you to ask yourself.

  • Am I able to arrive at SOHO each week, promptly at 5:30 p.m.?
  • Do I enjoy listening to and learning about others?
  • Am I flexible and able to adapt to new situations?
  • Do others consider me reliable and consistent?
  • Do I enjoy learning new things?
  • Am I interested in the arts and creative activities?
  • Am I open to working with a girl who may come from a different background and culture, have different beliefs, or are growing up under different circumstances than I did?

Learn more about how SOHO girls are selected.

If you are able to answer these questions with a resounding “Yes,” then SOHO may be the right fit for you.

 

Next Steps to Becoming a SOHO Mentor

Space of Her Own uses the following application process to ensure that we safeguard our most important assets – the girls in our program. Please note that while we recruit mentors year-round, we do not typically accept/place new mentors after the school year has begun.

  1. Attend an information session held mid to late Summer for the upcoming school year. If you do not see an information session listed here, please contact mentor@spaceofherown.org to learn more. Sign up for our mentor interest list or follow us on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter @spaceofherown
  2. Fill out an online application
  3. Be invited to an interview with SOHO program staff
  4. Complete our background check process
  5. Attend several SOHO sessions to get to know every mentor and girl
  6. Get matched with your mentee

E-mail  mentor@spaceofherown.org with any questions.