MentorChat

MentorChat's first guest of Season 2 is Dana Winters from the Fred Rogers Center! In this episode, we're talking with Dana about how the simplest interactions with young people can make a huge mentoring difference. Everyday Mentors - the "helpers" - who support kids can be anyone from teachers, to coaches, to crossing guards, and the work that they're already doing to make sure that young people feel seen and heard is worth recognizing! Listen in for some great and uplifting discussion about how - to quote the great Mr. Rogers -  "the deep and simple is far more essential than the shallow and complex" when impacting the lives of youth!

Additional Resources:

Fred Rogers Center | https://www.fredrogerscenter.org

Simple Interactions | https://www.fredrogerscenter.org/what-we-do/simple-interactions/

Thank you to Dana Winters:

Dana Winters, Ph.D., is the Rita McGinley Executive Director of the Fred Rogers Center for Early Learning and Children’s Media at Saint Vincent College. Her extensive field research from interviewing prisoners to shadowing crossing guards, from observing Head Start teachers and developing coaches in early childhood systems has informed the co-development of the Simple Interactions approach to support children, families, and their helpers. Dr. Winters describes and affirms the essential and relational practices of professionals across early education and intervention, out of school time learning, healthcare, family engagement, and more. She is an experienced applied researcher who has served as co-principal investigator and program evaluator for consecutive NSF-funded early childhood research and intervention projects in the areas of early literacy, social emotional development, and early mathematical learning. She leads numerous foundation and government project grants to improve early childhood systems and family engagement practices. Dr. Winters serves as a UNESCO Faculty Fellow in Children and Youth Studies, collaborating with faculty around the world in the advancement of empathy development and adult-child relationships across developmental settings. She received her Ph.D. in administrative and policy studies from the University of Pittsburgh.

Credits:

Hosted, written, and produced by Michelle Thomas & Ashley Wineland with The Mentoring Partnership of SWPA | www.mentoringpittsburgh.org

Music is "Cheery Monday" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) | Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Description:

Season 2 of our Mentor Chat podcast focuses a lot on Everyday Mentoring and we're kicking things off with our first episode, which tackles an obvious first question: what is Everyday Mentoring?  You may remember us referencing Everyday Mentoring last season.  Well, now we're shining a spotlight on the essence of Everyday Mentoring and how adults everywhere can use it to make a mentoring difference in the lives of kiddos they see regularly.  Everyday Mentoring is an important piece of the mentoring puzzle and it plays a critical role in our work to surround kids with 360 degrees of mentoring support -- in school, at home and in the community.  So settle in and listen to some personal stories and fun facts that will pave the way for our future Everyday Mentoring episodes!

Credits:

Hosted, written, and produced by Michelle Thomas & Ashley Wineland with The Mentoring Partnership of SWPA | www.mentoringpittsburgh.org

Music is "Cheery Monday" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) | Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

"Every Kid Needs a Champion," Rita Pierson

Season 2 is coming soon, and this time we're talking about Everyday Mentoring! Everyday Mentoring recognizes that adults everywhere can make a mentoring difference for youth in their daily lives. We'll be taking deep dives and talking with experts to understand what Everyday Mentoring looks like in action and how all caring adults can utilize it to help support youth succeed and thrive. Check back soon for Episode 1 - we can't wait to chat more!

Credits:

Hosted, written, and produced by Michelle Thomas & Ashley Wineland with The Mentoring Partnership of SWPA | www.mentoringpittsburgh.org

Music is "Cheery Monday" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) | Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Season 2 is coming soon, and this time we're talking about Everyday Mentoring! Everyday Mentoring recognizes that adults everywhere can make a mentoring difference for youth in their daily lives. We'll be taking deep dives and talking with experts to understand what Everyday Mentoring looks like in action and how all caring adults can utilize it to help support youth succeed and thrive. Check back soon for Episode 1 - we can't wait to chat more!

Episode 5 - Dishing with the Boss

Settle in for a one-on-one with TMP Executive Director, Colleen Fedor.  In her 20+ years at the helm of our organization, she's seen the growth and evolution of mentoring in our community and across the country.  She's sharing some of her highlights and hopes for the future as we close out this first series of podcast episodes.

Episode 4 - Making the Most of Mentoring

We've covered the bases on why mentoring is so important and the positive impact it can have.  But still, 1 in 3 young people who want a mentor don't have one.  How can we close this gap?  One thing we can do is teach kids to seek out mentors in their own networks.  Equipping youth with the tools they need to find support for their goals is invaluable.  Share this episode with a young person in your life, or take the key learnings out into the world with you as you encourage and uplift your young people!

Episode 3 - Meaningful Mentoring Moments

It's all hands on deck for this episode of MentorChat!  The entire TMP Team is gathering 'round the mic to share how mentoring has impacted each of our lives.  In sharing our personal stories, we'll also challenge you -- our listeners -- to think about the mentors in your life.  What does that relationship mean to you?  What would you say to that person now?  Grab your favorite hot beverage and pull up a chair as we spill the tea on some of our meaningful mentoring moments!

Episode 2 - Mentoring Myths

In our last episode, we talked about how important mentoring is.  So why isn't everyone mentoring?  In this episode, we're going to tackle mentoring myths.  From "I don't have time" to "my kid doesn't need a mentor," we're discussing things people may think about mentoring that aren't necessarily true.  Tune in to learn more about how you can make mentoring a perfect fit for you or a young person in your life.

Additional Resources

MentoringPittsburgh.org -- check out our trainings, Online Resource Library and upcoming events

Everyday Mentoring Weekly Tips -- sign up to receive mentoring tips in your inbox each week

Mentoring Connector -- search volunteer opportunities near you

Episode 1 - Why Mentoring?

Obviously given the title of our podcast -- Mentor Chat -- you know we're talking all things mentoring.  But in this first episode, we're going to lay the groundwork for all our discussions moving forward.  Why mentoring?  We're going to help you explore how mentoring may have impacted your life.  Who helped you get to where you are today?  Who are those people who have always been there for you?  Now more than ever, caring connections and strong relationships are important and we're going to talk about how mentoring plays an important role in our lives.  Whether it's a formal program or informal Everyday Mentoring, everyone can benefit from mentoring.  Let's get this conversation started!

Additional Resources:

MentoringPittsburgh.org -- Trainings, Online Resource Library 

Everyday Mentoring Weekly Tips - Sign up here!

Mentoring Connector -- Search volunteer opportunities near you! 

Stay inspired: Link to "If You Mentor Me" clip