Mentoring Toolkit
For Community-based Volunteers
Resources for Community-based Volunteers to Help You & Your Mentee Make the Most of Every Visit
We’re Here for You, so You Can Be There for Them
Thank you so much for choosing to become a Community-based volunteer mentor to a young person in your community. Your choice to be a positive influence in a young person’s life will undoubtedly have a positive ripple effect across their life and your own. But if you’ve gotten this far, you already know that.
At BGCBigs, our job is to support you and your mentee so you can both get the most out of this experience—and sometimes, to make the most of something you need a little extra help and inspiration.
That’s what this Mentoring Toolkit is for.
Click through the categories below to find a comprehensive list of places where you and your mentee can access discounts and freebies across Edmonton & Area, ideas for a variety of low-cost-no-cost activities and various other resources to help you plan meaningful visits for you and your mentee.
And don't forget to join our private Volunteer Facebook Group.
It's a closed group exclusively for BGCBigs Volunteers and is intended to help you connect with fellow volunteers and share ideas for match activities. We also post invites to upcoming events, provide volunteer recognition, share Volunteer Ambassador opportunities and so much more!
Browse a comprehensive list of places where you and your mentee can access discounts and freebies across Edmonton & Area to help cover the cost of outings. You’ll need to show your BGCBigs Membership card to access these special offers.
For inspiration: This is a list of fun outings you can enjoy with your mentee.
These are some icebreaker activities you can do with your mentee to get to know each other.
Need inspiration for some fun low-cost-no-cost activities you and your mentee can do together? We’ve got you covered. View a variety of different activities here. Do you have an idea for a fun activity not listed here? Let us know!
For inspiration: This is a list of cool museums you can visit with your mentee.
Here you’ll find a list of additional training you can take at your leisure. These online training programs cover a variety of different topics and areas of interest. Some will even provide a Certificate of Completion you can add to your portfolio/resume.
For inspiration: This is a list of exciting attractions you can discover with your mentee.
REAL stories about REAL kids with REAL mentors, who are having a REAL impact for REAL change
"Every Monday, Michael* meets with his mentee Toby* and they walk around the park and talk about their lives. Recently, Toby was donated few bicycle parts that he had been donated. Michael and Toby worked together for a few weeks to build the bike and now they ride bikes around the park every Monday while still catching up"
*Names may have changed for privacy purposes
"I was nervous about having a good relationship with my mentee. I worried about what activities we could do that would be fun and meaningful. But my worries were misplaced. Me and my mentee have done lots of fun things together like building a volcano out of paper mâché! Today my mentee is gaining confidence and I've had an opportunity to relive my youth!"
— Robert Markowski, Former In-School Mentor
Mentoring has taken me by a landslide! Being able to support someone else has shown me a different perspective on life. Anyone can be a mentor. You don't need anything fancy. All you need to do is be present in someone's life. I’m extremely proud of my mentee and all of their accomplishments! I’m excited to see what else they’ll accomplish throughout the rest of their life!
— Henry Grover, former Mentor