M&M "Roll" Model Program

Mentor Program Information and Application

The M&M (Mentee and Mentor) "Roll" Model Program fosters new and continuing mentoring relationships between teenage girls with disabilities and adult women with disabilities. Mentees and their mentors participate in monthly Express Yourself! Arts Groups and in Pair Activities. Dependent on program funding our program provides free transportation to our Arts Groups and for our Pair Activities as well as a monthly Pair Activity Stipend during our program year (September through May).

Each program year, our Arts Groups for Mentees and Mentors are held one Saturday each month (10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.) in the Heyworth Room at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago (RIC). Our Arts Groups feature our Winter Holiday Celebration Group (December) and our Summer Holiday Jamboree (May), which includes our Annual Recognition. The Arts Groups includes Hot Topic Discussions/Presentations (e.g., relationships; sexuality; parents), Advocacy Action Issues (e.g.,inaccessibility), Open Arts Studio (e.g., collage; masks; poetry) and a Pizza Party. During the summer members might attend Group Outings (e.g. Nature Museum, Picnic at Lincoln Park Zoo).

Mentor Requirements for our M&M "Roll" Model Program:

• Women with disabilities over 21 years of age
• Complete Application and provide three Personal References
• Attend an interview with Program Co-Coordinators
• Participate in Annual Mentor Orientation, Training and Development Workshop
• Commitment to Mentoring Relationship by staying in phone/e-mail contact with Mentee, participating in monthly Mentoring Pair Activities and by attending monthly Arts Groups during Program Year (September through May)

Specific Mentor Qualities:

• Self-determination (determines own life choices, not bound by non-disabled societal definitions or limitations)
• Disability Community Awareness (knowledge of disability rights, independent living philosophy or movement)
• Good Listener
• Tolerance
• Responsible/Reliable
• Trustworthy
• Patience
• Sense of Humor

Mentor Application Options

1. A Mentor is matched with a disabled teen girl and is responsible for mentoring her such as attending Arts Groups with her and participating in monthly Pair Activities
2. A Co-Mentor is matched with a disabled teen girl and shares mentoring responsibilities with another Co-Mentor
3. A Mentor-At-Large is not matched with a Mentee but attends Arts Group on an on-needed basis to ensure no girl is without a Mentor during Groups.

What a Mentor              Is	What a Mentor              Is Not
A trusted friend A guide A good lstener A responsible adult A reliable adult	A savior A foster parent A therapist A parole officer A cool peer

Mentor candidates will be notified of their acceptance into the program and also if they were matched with a Mentee.

Please complete and return this M&M "Roll" Model Application form (opens new window)