What is Mentoring?
If you ask ten different people for their definitions of mentoring, 
you’ll
probably get ten different answers. The terms “mentor” and “mentoring”
are often used to describe a wide range of roles and activities, and have
come to mean different things to different people.
We define mentoring as “a sustained relationship between an experienced, trusted, caring adult and a child who needs support to achieve academic, career, social, or personal goals.”
Informal vs. Formal Mentoring
Mentoring can exist both formally and informally. An informal mentoring relationship is one which happens naturally in our
day-to-day lives. An example of an informal mentor might be the coach of your child’s baseball team, or a family friend who
gets your child involved in a hobby they can do together.
Formal mentoring happens when the relationship is structured and the mentor and mentee connect with the help or direction of an established organization. Meetings are regularly scheduled over a set period of time, and the mentor and mentee are accountable not only to each other but to their mentoring organization as well.
Functions and Goals
The mentoring relationship can focus on specific functions and goals. Some mentoring relationships may focus on only one goal,
while some may focus on more than one.
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Personal Development
A mentoring relationship that focuses on personal development is beneficial for a youth who is going through a stressful or difficult period in his or her life. The youth may come from poverty, come from a single-parent home, be in foster care, or may have trouble forming relationships with others. Goals may include providing the youth with a positive adult role model, helping the youth to become a responsible adult, or providing enrichment experiences the youth may not have otherwise been able to experience.
Educational or Academic Mentoring
Educational or academic mentoring is directly or indirectly aimed at improving the youth’s academic performance, or teaching
the youth a specific skill.
Career Mentoring
Career mentoring helps a youth, with the assistance of his or her experienced
mentor, to acquire the skills needed to begin or advance upon his or her
career path of choice. Career mentoring may also encourage
youth to begin considering various career paths while still in school,
and to make plans for their college education to help them achieve those
dreams.
Mentoring Settings
Mentoring can take place in a variety of settings, depending upon the goals of the program.
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Community-Based Mentoring
Community-based mentoring does not require a standard meeting place for mentors and mentees. Instead, meetings take place in a variety of places, at times mutually agreed upon by the mentoring pair. Site-Based Mentoring
Site-based mentoring takes place at a specific site, frequently a school. All mentoring activities take place at the site, usually on a specific day and time.