“How did you find icouldbe?”

If it weren’t for all of our dedicated volunteers, icouldbe.org wouldn’t exist. Our mentors come from all different backgrounds and places around the country, and work for a great variety of companies. Some of our mentors are employees of our corporate sponsors, and found out about us that way – others have signed up through our Volunteer Match page.

So we’re curious to know – if YOU are a mentor for icouldbe, how did you find out about us? (And if you’re not… maybe now you can say that our blog is how you got motivated to volunteer!)

Father’s Day is almost here!

There are over 64 million fathers in the US alone. Father’s day is celebrated in 55 countries across the globe—on almost every continent. Research has shown that children with fathers who are actively involved in their lives learn more, have better problem solving skills and perform better in school. And the earlier Dad starts interacting with the child, the better! Reading with your youngsters helps them develop language and literary skills and a more in depth knowledge of the world around them.

This year, celebrate Father’s Day by spending time with your family. Whether it’s reading together, watching the game, or cooking for mom—taking time to be with each other is a great (and free!) way to let your family know how much they mean to you!

Here are some great suggestions from the national fatherhood clearinghouse on how to celebrate this year.

How has your father or father figure impacted your life? And fathers—what is the most rewarding thing about being a dad?

Finally, we’d like to say a big THANKS to all you dads out there for being positive role models and mentors in your children’s lives!

Wrapping up the 2009-2010 school year… and looking forward

With June comes the end of the school year, when we take a look and measure the success of the icouldbe program within its schools. This year we saw growth around 25% in the number of students served!

Within the icouldbe curriculum, students have shown impressive progress throughout the year.

·     In the Core Units, completion increased 63%

·     In Prerequisite Units, completion increased 52.5%

·     In Electives completion increased 25%

The active curricular engagement between mentors and mentees this year surpasses anything we’ve seen in any previous year.

The students aren’t the only ones who wowed us this school year. Our mentors, in a year with a higher volume of activity work than ever before, increased their average course room posts by 50%!

With the growth of the icouldbe program, we look to the future with excitement – and the acknowledgement that this growth will require even more support of our large mentee population. More mentors are needed for next year, and we will be working hard to effectively train, recognize and retain our wonderful mentors for years to come.

Mentors in the Armed Forces

When Memorial Day arrives each year, we honor those in the armed services and think about people we know who dedicate their time and lives to their country. Here at icouldbe.org, we send a special thank you to these members of the armed forces.

We would also like to take the time to recognize 40 of our mentors who represent various branches of the armed services, including the Army, Air Force, Navy, Coast Guard and the Marines. Together these mentors have dedicated over 638 hours of service in the icouldbe program.

These mentors are able to provide a unique viewpoint from their experiences, and offer students advice and feedback about many different career options within the military, as well as personal goals they may have. One icouldbe mentor in the Army offered this advice to her mentee:

“Remember that within the military many people have experienced many different things. Some people deploy to war, some don’t. Some get promoted on time, some get promoted later. Some succeed quickly and some leave the military after a few years. Your military career will be what you make of it.”

So here’s a thank you to those exceptional mentors – and an invitation to anyone in the armed services looking to mentor young students and share their experiences and expertise.