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✦Mentoring

Start with a caring adult
and a clear next step.

Families can ask to explore mentoring through a guardian-led enrollment application. Adults can begin a separate mentor-interest inquiry. Both paths start a review — not a guaranteed mentor, placement, schedule, or enrollment in another GGU program.

Start a family applicationExplore the mentor role
Family path
Guardian enrollment
Adult path
Mentor interest
Next step
Organization review
✦Choose your path

Two clear ways to begin

Family enrollment and adult mentor interest are separate. Completing one does not sign a person up for the other or for Leadership Academy, workshops, camps, or other programs.

For families

Start with a guardian-led application

A parent or legal guardian completes the family application and selects Mentoring in the GGU interest section. Share her goals, your availability, and your preferred setting so staff can review the request.

Start a family application

For prospective adult mentors

Begin an adult mentor-interest inquiry

Share the mentor role you can realistically support, your availability, relevant experience, and why consistent mentoring matters to you.

Explore the mentor role
✦For families

A guardian-led request, not an automatic placement

Start with the family application. A parent or legal guardian completes it with the participant and selects Mentoring in the GGU interest section. Review the program terms and share your goals, preferred setting, and availability; staff consider fit and current capacity before inviting your family to a next step.

  1. 01

    Guardian completes enrollment

    A parent or legal guardian completes the family application with the young person. Select Mentoring in the GGU interest section, then share her goals and the times your family can usually attend.

  2. 02

    The organization reviews fit and capacity

    A submitted application is a request for review, not a program placement. The organization may need to confirm age fit, location, schedule, accommodations, family needs, and current capacity.

  3. 03

    Confirm details before participation

    If an opportunity is available, the organization can share the applicable program details, consent steps, and next actions. Selecting Mentoring does not enroll her in Leadership Academy, camps, workshops, or any other program.

Open the guardian enrollment form
✦Example session rhythms

Age-fit practice, not one-size-fits-all advice

These are substantive 60-minute examples for planning conversations. A confirmed program may adapt the focus, setting, and supports with the family; the examples do not promise a specific mentor, delivery model, or service schedule.

Ages 8–10 · 60 minutes

Notice, name, and practice

A predictable 60-minute rhythm helps younger girls identify feelings, try one practical skill, and tell a guardian what they want to keep practicing.

  1. 10 minWelcome and feeling check: Choose a feelings word, draw a check-in, or use a simple scale to name how the week felt.
  2. 10 minStory or real-life scenario: Talk through an age-appropriate moment such as joining a game, handling disappointment, or asking a trusted adult for help.
  3. 15 minSkill practice: Role-play a calm-down strategy, an assertive sentence, or how to ask for support; repeat it until it feels usable.
  4. 15 minMake-and-try plan: Create one small action for the week, such as packing a confidence note or practicing a respectful response at home.
  5. 10 minGuardian-facing close: Share logistics and the agreed practice step with the guardian without requiring the girl to disclose private conversation details.

Family note: Families can reinforce one simple skill at home, such as a feeling check or help-seeking sentence, rather than turning the session into homework.

Ages 11–13 · 60 minutes

Reflect, rehearse, and choose

A 60-minute session gives middle-school girls room to connect a real situation to a communication, friendship, confidence, or decision-making skill.

  1. 10 minCheck-in and agenda: Name one win, one challenge, and choose which topic needs attention today.
  2. 15 minScenario and perspective: Use a realistic friendship, school, online, or family situation to identify choices, consequences, and trusted adults.
  3. 15 minSkill lab: Practice a boundary statement, a repair conversation, a planning tool, or a pause-before-posting strategy.
  4. 15 minPersonal next step: Write one specific, safe action and the support needed to follow through during the week.
  5. 5 minLogistics close: Confirm the next session plan and any guardian-approved practical follow-up without using private direct messages.

Family note: Guardians remain the contact for logistics and can ask the organization how to support the agreed next step without asking a girl to report every discussion.

Ages 14–18 · 60 minutes

Plan, practice, and advocate

A 60-minute session connects a teen’s present choices to her values, relationships, education, work, leadership, and future goals.

  1. 10 minGoal and decision check-in: Review a current goal, barrier, or decision and identify what is within her control this week.
  2. 15 minReal-world skill focus: Work through communication, budgeting, interview preparation, conflict navigation, leadership, or help-seeking using an age-appropriate example.
  3. 15 minRehearsal or problem-solving: Practice a conversation, compare options, or draft a short plan with likely obstacles and safe supports.
  4. 15 minAction and accountability plan: Choose a measurable next step, a deadline, and a trusted adult or approved support who can help.
  5. 5 minApproved logistics close: Confirm next-session logistics through the guardian-included communication process; mentoring is not a private chat service.

Family note: Teens can lead their goals while guardians remain included in scheduling, safety, consent, and other required communication.

✦Safety and boundaries

Relationship-centered, with clear adult responsibility

Mentoring can support confidence, communication, goals, and practical life skills. It is not therapy, crisis response, a private-chat service, or a substitute for guardian involvement and professional care when those are needed.

Read the full child safety policy
  • The family application must be completed by a parent, legal guardian, or authorized adult; it does not create a mentor match, a confirmed schedule, or a placement.
  • Mentoring is not therapy, crisis care, tutoring, or an emergency response. If a child is in immediate danger, call 911 rather than using a website form.
  • Mentoring communication with a participant is parent-included, not private personal messaging. Families should use organization-approved channels for scheduling and questions.
  • In-home sessions require a parent or guardian to be present in the home. Transportation requires written parent permission and an approved, insured driver.
  • A family may ask for clarification about the specific setting, supervision, accessibility needs, and consent steps before agreeing to participate.
✦Possible delivery settings

One mentoring purpose. Different settings.

These settings are ways mentoring may be delivered. Availability, location, staffing, and family fit are reviewed before any participation is confirmed.

01

School-Based Mentoring

Weekly sessions hosted through a partner school during or after the school day, when a participating site and program capacity are available.

Learn about this setting →02

In-Home Mentoring

One-on-one sessions in the family home where offered, with a parent or guardian present in the home under the published safety policy.

Learn about this setting →03

Community Mentoring

Mentoring hosted with community partners such as centers, churches, and youth organizations when a site and cohort are confirmed.

Learn about this setting →04

Group Mentoring

Structured small-group support for girls who can benefit from practicing skills alongside peers in a facilitated setting.

Learn about this setting →
✦Prospective adult mentors

Bring your reason, your capacity, and a willingness to learn.

The mentor-interest form asks what role and age group fit your capacity, what youth experience you bring, and why you want to show up consistently. It is an interest inquiry — not a confirmed role, verification, or match.

Begin a mentor-interest inquiryI’m a guardian enrolling a girl

Separate forms keep family enrollment and adult mentor interest distinct.

Two smiling girls side by side, one in a white and one in a pink Girls Glowing Up T-shirt, with trees behind them

Ready to take the right first step?

Choose the form that matches your role. A family application is guardian-led; an adult mentor inquiry is reviewed separately. Neither route automatically creates a placement or enrollment elsewhere.

Family enrollmentAdult mentor interest