AUSTIN, Texas — Many children grow up in environments where they don't have access to traditional guardianship. Other children need a little extra care in order to succeed.
In Central Texas, there are a number of programs available that can provide these children with mentors to help them achieve their goals and feel comfortable expressing themselves.
Here are just a few of the mentorship programs offered in the Austin area.
Austin Partners in Education (APIE)
According to its website, for the last 19 years, APIE has connected the Austin community and the classroom to "improve student college and career readiness." Every year, the organization recruits and trains hundreds of volunteers, as well as full-time staff, to provide tutoring and mentoring to more than 2,500 students.
Learn more about becoming an APIE mentor.
Austin Angels' Dare to Dream program offers one-on-one mentorship to children ages 11 to 22 who are in foster care. According to its website, Dare to Dream mentors meet both practical and emotional needs for their mentees, guiding them through "tailored developmental milestones." Mentors meet with their mentees every other week, and the program is a one-year commitment.
Learn more about becoming a Dare to Dream mentor.
The African American Youth Harvest Foundation offers small group and one-to-one mentoring in a variety of settings, as well as a connection to wraparound services for children identified as needing support. Learn more about the organization.
The goal of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Texas is to "create and support one-to-one mentoring relationships that ignite the power and promise of youth," according to the organization's website. The organization has chapters across the country and has been helping children since 1904.
Learn more about becoming a "Big" or getting a Big.
"Explorers" with Explore Austin begin in sixth grade and their mentors stay with them through their high school graduation and beyond. According to the program's website, over the course of the 6-year program, each Explorer spends more than 1,300 hours with their mentors. Explore Austin also utilizes outdoor adventures to empower its young participants. Learn more.
Friends of the Children states that it is the "only long-term professional mentoring program in the country." The organization selects children who could most benefit from a relationship with a long-term professional mentor and pairs them with "Friends."
According to the Friends of the Children website, Friends "commit to every child for the long term, from kindergarten through graduation, 12+ years, no matter what," and each child's Friend spends a minimum of 14 to 16 intentional hours per month with them.
Learn more about how Friends of the Children's mentoring works.
The Seedling Mentor Program is specifically designed to provide children whose parents are incarcerated with a long-term, positive relationship and to help those children develop positive attitudes toward school. According to its website, the program has served more than 2,700 students on more than a 100 campuses in 17 independent and charter districts in Central Texas.
Learn more about the program.
Partnerships for Children's Youth Empowerment and Success (YES) Mentoring program is designed to provide teens in foster care with a supportive adult figure who can help them as they transition into adulthood.
Meanwhile, the organization's Kids in a New Groove (KING) Mentoring program provides youth in foster care with committed one-on-one mentoring relationships through weekly free, private music lessons.
Learn more about participating in one of Partnerships for Children's programs.