FMP is a site-based mentoring program. Mentors and mentees meet at community or family resource centers near their homes and schools
We currently operate at three sites and are expanding to a fourth site soon:
Yorkville/Fairfax
Yorkville Family Resource Center
3146 Draper Drive,
Fairfax, VA 22031
Reston
Southgate Community Center
12125 Pinecrest Road,
Reston, VA 20190
Kingsley/Falls Church
Kingsley Family Resource Center
3175-B Monticello Drive,
Falls Church, VA 22042
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Yorkville/Fairfax: Tuesdays 4 - 5 p.m.
Reston: Tuesdays 4 - 5 p.m.
Kingsley/Falls Church: Thursday's 5 - 6 p.m.
FMP also sponsors bi-monthly field trips to various locations around the DC area. Field trips take place on Saturdays.
Mentees are referred by school counselors, teachers, community center staff, parents, and guardians. Mentees are in grades 4 through 8 and range in ages from 9 - 14.
A Typical Mentee:
• Struggles with schoolwork
• Spends little time with an adult
• Needs a positive adult role model
• Lacks confidence and self-esteem
• Copes with family separation issues
• Wants a friend who will listen to them and have fun!
Yes. While the traditional one-on-one mentoring takes place on weekdays, opportunities exist to help these youth and their communities on the weekends. Currently, FMP sponsors a community homework and career workshop on Sunday afternoons once a month. This workshop takes place at the Yorkville Family Resource Center in Fairfax, VA.
Anyone can be a mentor! If you are eighteen or older, and you care about children and your community, than you qualify. We are looking for caring and responsible adults. We enthusiastically encourage individuals from all walks of life to take part in our program. Regardless of your income level, ethnicity, age, gender, religion or culture, you can make a difference in the life of a child.
Mentors and mentees decide together what they would like to do with their time. Mentors are encouraged to help the mentee with homework or a school project for about half of the meeting time. The remainder of the hour can be spent on a special projects, sports and recreation, watching movies, playing board games, participating in a community event or just hanging out.
To ensure the child’s safety and assist the program coordinator in making a compatible match, there is an initial application process. After the application and background checks have been completed, the coordinator will contact you to find out more about you and your interests to ensure that your mentee will be compatible. The final step will be to complete a training session. The orientation and training will give you tips on how to be an effective mentor, your role and responsibilities. Once your training has been completed, the coordinator will pair you with a young person waiting to spend more time with a caring, responsible adult.
With so many organizations looking for volunteers, it is difficult to decide where you can make the biggest difference. While being a mentor to one child may not seem to make a big impact on changing our community, consider the influence on a child who needs an adult role model and does not have one. A youth that becomes involved in drugs or crime, quickly becomes a community problem. School dropout rates affect the community and our economy. Research on both the national and local level demonstrate that positive relationships between adults and youth offer the personal attention and support that frequently is lacking in the lives of young people.
Young people who meet regularly with mentors are:
• 46% less likely to start using illegal drugs
• 27% less likely to start consuming alcohol
• 52% less likely to skip school
• more likely to graduate from high school
• more likely to enroll in college
• more likely to be hopeful about their future
(Public Private Ventures, 1999)
Thank you for your interest in youth mentoring. Please contact the FMP Director at the site most convenient to you:
Programs in Fairfax, Falls Church, and Bailey’s Crossroads:
Safiya Khalid : safiya.khalid@fairfaxcounty.gov
Programs in Reston:703-324-5460, TTY 711
Lindy Jaouad: Lindy.Jaouad@fairfaxcounty.gov
VA Cooperative Extension: Fairfax Mentors Project
12011 Government Center Parkway, Suite 1050
Fairfax, Virginia 22035-1111
703-324-5369, TTY 711
Links to Virginia Cooperative
Extension Public Website: www.ext.vt.edu
Fairfax County Website
