Change 2 Lives - Become A Mentor

Paramount Pictures Mentors and Their Mentees Give Back

2014-01-06T17:40:00.001-08:00

Right before the holidays, our LeConte Middle School youth teamed up with their mentors from Paramount Studios to give a little something back to the community. Our mentor/mentee groups worked together to build and decorate tasty gingerbread houses that would then be given as gifts to Covenant House - a place decicated to helping homeless youth and their families. The old cliche is true, though

LAMAR BANKS STORY – Journey with Youth Mentoring Connection

2013-12-30T09:05:00.001-08:00

Lamar Banks grew up in South Central LA in an area that was highly gang-oriented. He like a large number of young men

Tip for Mentors: Help Someone Heal. Reach Out to Cure the Holiday Blues

2013-12-18T14:11:00.000-08:00

We’ve been hearing from some of our mentors and mentees about the different issues that young people experience during the holidays when they see everyone else seemingly happy and in the holiday spirit while they’re experiencing negative emotions with their family or home situation

Connecting Mentors and Mentees through “Connecting Cultures”

2013-11-21T15:52:00.000-08:00

It’s striking how much we discover our similarities by examining our differences. This past Tuesday, students from LeConte middle school not only found out their Paramount mentor matches, but they got a unique opportunity to get to know each other with help from our friends at Connecting Cultures. Our two groups learned about their own heritage, as well as the cultures of others, through

Giving Thanks

2013-11-20T13:28:00.000-08:00

This week at BEATS, our mentee/mentor matches got together for a Thanksgiving party where each group sat down and came up with a menu, guest list, activities, and a list of people not invited to their ultimate fantasy holiday dinner. Our groups really got into the project. They were able to invite anybody (past or present) so we had guest appearances from the king of pop himself, Michael

True Colors at Paramount 11/5/13

2013-11-12T19:08:00.000-08:00

During our True Colors session at the Paramount High School Mentoring program, mentors and mentees had the opportunity to learn more about their respective match through an activity called True Colors. Everyone was able to see who the spontaneous, compassionate, analytical and responsible individuals were. Mentors and mentees were then grouped by similar affiliations and were able to discuss

WB: The time has finally arrived!

2013-11-12T17:10:00.001-08:00

After weeks of anticipation, the time is finally here! It is with great pleasure to announce the WB mentor-mentee matches of 2013-2014. While engaging in a fun activity called “Human Bingo”, today was filled with so much enthusiasm and happiness. As matches were revealed, everyone’s high spirits showed that this is only the beginning of what is yet to come!

True Colors

2013-11-07T18:05:00.001-08:00

Normally putting "Thinkers" and "Doers" in the same room is never a good idea, but today at HBO we couldn't have had a better group dynamic. Even the "People Person" who's normally at war with the impatience "Organizer" found space to be caring and compassionate without negating. Somehow, the YMC staff manage to get through session in a timely fashion with no black eyes, no broken bones,and no

BINGO!!

2013-11-06T10:35:00.000-08:00

How many of you remember playing BINGO in school, your teacher calling out the numbers, and you sitting on the edge of your seat because you almost have five in a row? Remember how much fun and competitive it was? Those were the good old days. Now imagine playing BINGO in an interactive way -getting up, walking around, and trying to fill in the blank spots with names of people in the room,

WB: Have we met?

2013-10-29T17:39:00.001-07:00

What another amusing and thrilling day with our WB mentors and mentees! From engaging in a little “back-to-back” activity to a small group discussion, the excitement does not end with this crowd. As some approach their final days as being “mentor-less” or “mentee-less”, we can only imagine the anticipation for this day to arrive. Please be prepared for more enjoyment to come with our WB

BEATS 2013 Meet and Greet

2013-10-25T14:50:00.000-07:00

YMC would like to introduce BEATS as one of our new programs we’re working with this year. The staff at Beats, as well as the amazing students from the Youth Justice Coalition/Free LA High School and Los Angeles Trade Tech College Prep, had lots of fun. They shared a few laughs together and played a few get-to-know-you games with each other. We had so much fun at the meet and greet,

Nothing Like Some Good Ol' Human Bingo...

2013-10-25T14:18:00.001-07:00

The wait is over! After strategic torture and long hours spent at Informational Sessions, Training's, and a Meet & Greet, mentees have met their match. Youth Mentoring Connection is proud to present HBO's 2013-2014 mentoring program!

Paramount / Helen Bernstein Matches Revealed!

2013-10-24T14:07:00.001-07:00

"Yes!" was the resounding response to the YMC staff question, "Are you happy with your mentor matches?" This Tuesday, all of our mentors from Paramount and mentees from Helen Bernstein High School and STEM Academy of Hollywood met to find out what the new pairings would be. After a large game of Human Bingo, where everyone scrambled to identify who corresponded with which fun fact, the mentor/

Paramount LeConte Meet and Greet 10-15-13

2013-10-24T11:45:00.000-07:00

This year at our LeConte middle school mentoring program, the mentors from Paramount got their first opportunity to meet the new and returning mentees. The session began with a giant get-to-know you game with almost 60 participants quickly matching up with those sharing a common characteristic. We then split into two groups where mentors and mentees rotated around asking each other more

Viacom Matching Session

2013-10-24T10:22:00.000-07:00

Our Viacom program started this year with a bang! Mentees and mentors found out who they were matched with by playing an interactive and fun game of “Human Bingo.” We had asked our mentors and mentees to provide us with fun facts about themselves, and now they had to match the funny fact with the correct individual. Mentors and mentees had a blast as they tried to figure out who fit

CHLA: It's so hard to say GOODBYE!

2013-10-17T17:52:00.000-07:00

While most of YMC's programs are starting up, our CHLA Hollywood program came to a closure. I can attest that this was a bitter-sweet day. As mentors and mentees reflected and expressed their experience, it became apparent that we all were in the “right place at the right time”. It was an honor to witness mentors role-modeling healthy closure for our youth... Which is one of the greatest gifts

WB: 13 years and counting...

2013-10-16T11:44:00.000-07:00

Yesterday’s session was another amazing and awe-inspiring day … what a great start for Fall 2013 with our WB Mentors and Mentees! As usual we kicked off WB with what we like to call a "Meet & Greet” activity for the thirteenth time, yes you heard correctly… thirteenth time!  Nevertheless, after having a partnership with WB for 13 years it felt innovative all over again. “Returners” were

HBO's 2013 - 2014 Meet & Greet

2013-10-15T17:07:00.002-07:00

Showing up to HBO with new mentees last week was nothing less than fun! Ooh's, Aah's and occasional Wow's filled the elevator... Mentees couldn't fathom that they could potentially walk past actors, producers, or musicians let alone met some cool HBO employees. Their excitement was through the roof even before they had a chance to set foot in the community room so I knew it was going to be a

Viacom Meet & Greet 2013-2014

2013-10-11T14:41:00.000-07:00

This past Wednesday was the start of our Viacom mentoring program. We gathered our youth, mentors, and YMC staff at the Bergamot Station Café in Santa Monica. New mentors and mentees had a chance to bond by participating in various activities, while returning mentors and mentees spent some quality time catching up. It was exciting to see everyone have fun and get along. We are looking

Jamaica say you will...mentor!

2013-09-26T15:48:00.000-07:00

Delegation from Jamaica visits YMC to learn about our unique approach! The International Visitors Council of Los Angeles International Visitor Leadership Program of professional and cultural exchanges contacted us about a select group of educators from Jamaica who wanted to visit to learn about our approach to mentoring and youth transformation. When we asked why they chose&

Slang Pictionary at CHLA Hollywood

2013-09-24T13:44:00.000-07:00

What better way to spend an afternoon than hanging out with our CHLA Hollywood family? Starting matches off with a generational exchange activity where both mentor and mentee share their own middle school experiences, gave each individual some insight as to how similar but different each experience can be... Later, matches were grouped together to form three teams for the ultimate challenge, "

Mentee Information & Training Session

2013-09-18T15:12:00.001-07:00

Walking into a room full of students after-school on a Friday is something I definitely didn't expect... Seeing smiles on those faces inside the room seemed to be preposterous! Thanks to our wonderful liaison Mr. Dean, we were able to host a Mentee Training and Information Session last week at Los Angeles Trade Technical College with students from the Early College Academy!

UOFA Screening on Aug. 24th, 2013

2013-09-06T15:04:00.000-07:00

This screening was another opportunity for our mentees, mentors and supportive community to enjoy the films our youth had made this year at the Urban Oasis Film Academy. Those who attended had an opportunity to watch the films and get to know the stories behind the filmmakers and their different motivations to make these films. The audience also heard how the film-making process positively

Truth or Dare, The CHLA Hollywod Way

2013-07-24T11:08:00.000-07:00

Who knew "Truth or Dare" could be so fun? Last week at our Children Hospital Los Angeles Hollywood mentoring session, mentees and mentors filled the room with joy and randomness. Nonstop laughter and an occasional "I dare you" echoed the space for hours and I must admit, it was quite therapeutic!

CHLA Hollywood - "Meet & Greet"

2013-06-21T14:47:00.001-07:00

View allGet your own This past week, we launched our CHLA Hollywood summer mentoring program... and it was a blast! Middle schoolers primarily from LeConte Middle School received an opportunity to get their "bowl on" and meet some cool adults at the same time. We call this our "Meet & Greet" session. "It's always exciting to observe mentees and mentors meet for the first time." Please be sure to