Mentor a Chicago Teen and Make a Difference!

BECOME A VOLUNTEER MENTOR TODAY!

Make an Impact. Build a Relationship. Help Shape a Future.

Looking for a meaningful way to give back while developing your own leadership, coaching, and communication skills?

Become a volunteer mentor with Minds Matter Chicago and build a meaningful, long-term relationship with an ambitious high school student as they navigate high school, prepare for college, explore careers, and imagine what is possible for their future.

Mentoring is at the heart of the Minds Matter Chicago experience.

As a mentor, you will be paired with a student and serve as a consistent source of encouragement, perspective, accountability, and support throughout their high school journey. You do not need to be a teacher, counselor, or college admissions expert. You simply need to be willing to listen, learn, show up consistently, and invest in a young person's potential.

This is more than a volunteer opportunity. It is an opportunity to strengthen your leadership skills, expand your perspective, join a community of professionals committed to educational opportunity, and make a lasting difference in a student's life.

This Opportunity Is Perfect For:

• Young professionals looking for a meaningful way to give back
• Graduate students and early-career professionals
• Mid-career and experienced professionals interested in mentoring the next generation
• Professionals across business, technology, healthcare, education, law, finance, nonprofit, government, the arts, and other industries
• Individuals interested in strengthening their coaching, communication, and leadership skills
• People who benefited from a mentor and want to pay that experience forward
• Anyone passionate about helping ambitious high school students pursue their college and career goals

No previous mentoring or education experience is required. Minds Matter Chicago provides training, resources, and ongoing support to help mentors succeed.

Imagine Spending Your Saturdays...

• Building a meaningful relationship with a motivated high school student.
• Helping your mentee identify their strengths, interests, goals, and aspirations.
• Talking through challenges at school, celebrating accomplishments, and helping your mentee stay motivated when things get difficult.
• Exploring colleges, majors, careers, internships, and opportunities together.
• Sharing lessons from your own educational, professional, and life experiences.
• Connecting with a community of mentors and professionals who believe in the potential of young people.
• And, over time, watching a student you have supported grow into a confident young adult ready to take their next step.

Mentoring is not about having all the answers. It is about being present, asking thoughtful questions, opening doors to new possibilities, and reminding a young person that someone is in their corner.

What You'll Gain

Mentoring is an investment in a student, but it is also an opportunity for tremendous personal and professional growth.

As a Minds Matter Chicago mentor, you'll strengthen skills in:

• Coaching and active listening
• Relationship-building
• Leadership and communication
• Goal setting and accountability
• Giving constructive feedback
• Cross-cultural communication
• College and career exploration
• Problem-solving
• Supporting and motivating others

These are skills that translate across industries and leadership roles, whether you are managing a team, working with clients, building community, or preparing for the next stage of your career.

Most importantly, you'll have the opportunity to develop a relationship that can make a meaningful difference in both your mentee's life and your own.

What You'll Do

As a volunteer mentor, you'll:

• Build a consistent, supportive relationship with a Minds Matter Chicago high school student.
• Meet with your mentee during weekly Saturday programming throughout the academic year.
• Help your mentee set academic, personal, college, and career goals and develop strategies for reaching them.
• Encourage your mentee to reflect on their strengths, interests, challenges, and aspirations.
• Support college and career exploration through conversations, activities, and exposure to new opportunities.
• Help your mentee develop confidence, self-advocacy, decision-making, and problem-solving skills.
• Collaborate with Minds Matter Chicago staff and volunteer leaders to ensure your mentee receives the support they need.

You will never be expected to navigate the mentoring experience alone. Minds Matter Chicago provides structure, training, resources, and a community of support throughout your volunteer experience.

Time Commitment

Mentors should be prepared to commit to:

• 3 hours per week
• Weekly Saturday program sessions during the academic year
• Regular communication and relationship-building with their mentee
• Mentor training and occasional volunteer meetings or special events

The time you give each week can have an impact that lasts far beyond Saturday.

Why Minds Matter Chicago?

For nearly two decades, Minds Matter Chicago has partnered with ambitious students from low-income families, providing individualized mentoring, academic enrichment, and college advising that helps students earn admission to and succeed at four-year colleges.

As a volunteer, you'll also benefit from:

• Connections with professionals across industries and career stages
• Ongoing mentor training and volunteer development
• Opportunities to expand your own professional and community network

Our mentors do more than volunteer. They build relationships that can change futures.

Ready to Make an Impact?

• You do not need to have all the answers.
• You do not need to work in education.
• You do not need to have been a mentor before.
• You just need to be willing to show up, listen, encourage, and believe in a young person's potential.

Join Minds Matter Chicago as a volunteer mentor and become part of a community helping ambitious students turn their goals into possibilities and their possibilities into futures.

Want to Learn More?

Sign up for an upcoming information session here: https://forms.gle/TNVX3UWAevuRvuzz5

Ready to Apply?

Complete our online volunteer application and select Mentor as the position you are applying for.

Apply here: https://mindsmatter.tfaforms.net/5152541

If you have questions about mentoring or would like to learn more before applying, we'd love to connect.

Email: volunteers@mindsmatterchicago.org