In January, Goodwill Industries of Greater New York and Northern New Jersey launched a new mentoring program, GoodGuides™, to help 12-17 year-old youth make positive choices and plan for their future. GoodGuides™ provides tools and resources to help young people develop career plans and skills.
GoodGuides™ seeks to help teens avoid risks such as school failure, juvenile delinquency, family violence and other challenges. The mentoring program is funded through a two-year grant that Goodwill Industries International received from the U.S. Department of Justice. Goodwill NY-NJ is one of 56 local Goodwill agencies in 38 states that is currently running GoodGuides™. Goodwill is a good match for this program because of its long history of helping people find jobs and its emphasis on building strong families.
For this purpose, Goodwill recruits, vetts, and trains adults from the community to volunteer as program mentors. The mentor selection process includes a brief interview, background check, a 1-hour orientation and 2-hour training session. During training, potential mentors will learn about the program guidelines, mentoring Do’s and Don’ts, and suggested activities.
If you would like to mentor youth in your community or know of young people who could benefit from the GoodGuides™ services, please call (718) 777-6443 or email at awhittaker@goodwillny.org.
“You just need to have a passion to help our youth become productive adults,” notes Anthony Whittaker, Goodwill’s GoodGuides™ Program manager. “IF YOU WANT A CHILD TO DO GREAT THINGS IN THEIR WORLD, COME SPEND SOME TIME IN OURS!” he recites the GoodGuides™ mantra.
GoodGuides™, located at Goodwill’s Family Learning Center.
4-21 27th Avenue; Business Hours: Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-3 p.m.
Mentoring Hours: 3-7 p.m.