Pioneer Mentoring

Do Something Great

Mentor Training Program

Welcome, Pioneer Mentors!
 
This page provides access to all the material contained in Pioneer Mentor Training Program. The Program is designed to give you the information, supporting material, and most of all, confidence, to be a Pioneer Mentor.

Please don’t be intimidated by the fact it’s called a “Training Program” … it’s not difficult! In fact, if you’ve volunteered to be a Pioneer Mentor, you’re probably going to find that you know a lot of this information already. We’re just bringing all the guidance and best practices into one place so you can access it easily, and we can ensure that all Mentors have the information they need for their Mentoring Group to be a success.
 
The Program consists of eight simple modules. You’ll find a description of each module in the sections below, along with links to the videos and training material that will provide you with more details.
 
You’ll find that some of this material is relevant to Stitch members in general, not just Mentors, so in many cases, we’ll also be including it in the Stitch Help Center. Please feel free to share all the information with the Pioneers in your Group. The content in the program is open to the public, so can be viewed by anyone.
 
To complete the Program, you need to familiarize yourself with the content in each module. When you get to the final module, it will give you links to a quiz that will test you on what you’ve learned, so that you can check that you’re ready to start your first Mentoring Group.
 
Let’s get started!

1. How the program works

The Program Overview describes how the program works. It outlines all the information contained in the video on the Stitch Pioneering page, so if you’ve watched that video already, the information in this module will be quite familiar to you. We’ve just gathered it here so you can refer back to it if needed.

The program Overview covers:

  • Goals of the program
  • Who can be a Pioneer
  • Who can be a Pioneer Mentor
  • Expectations for Mentors
To access this module, click here.

2. Running an effective virtual activity

Some Mentors only have experience organizing in-person events, and have never run a virtual activity before. The Virtual Activity module covers not only the basics of how to set up and run a virtual activity on Stitch, but also a number of tips and tricks to make sure the activities you run are the best they can possibly be.

Even if you’ve run hundreds of virtual activities on Stitch before, we recommend you watch the video tutorials in this module. Your Mentoring Groups will meet over Zoom or Stitch Video, and you’ll be playing a hugely important role in inspiring the Pioneers in your group. You are going to be most effective doing that if you make sure you follow some simple best practices to make your events a success.

This module includes:

  • Recommendations for your audio
  • Recommendations for your lighting
  • Recommendations for your camera setup
  • Recommendations for your device and Internet setup
  • How to set up a virtual activity on Stitch
  • Guidance for running a virtual activity

You can access this module here.

3. Guidance for starting a community

This module outlines the guidance Stitch provides for Pioneers — or any member, for that matter — to help get community activity started in their areas.

You don’t need to have experienced an active in-person community yourself to be a Mentor, so you don’t need to be an expert in starting a community. You just need to be able to provide give the guidance we provide to the Pioneers in your group, discuss their progress with them, and give them as much encouragement as you can. Of course, if you want to follow some of these guidelines in your own area too, go for it!

This module includes:

  • Setting up your profile for community building
  • Setting up Activity Suggestions
  • Creating a “kickoff” activity for your local community
  • Reaching out to local members
  • Creating a recurring monthly activity
  • Encouraging other members to organize
  • Turning on your Welcomer settings
  • and more…

You can access this module here.

4. Running your mentoring group

This module provides guidance on how to run your mentor group. It includes:

  • Goals for your group
  • How the Stitch team will help you set up your group
  • Agenda for your first get-together
  • Suggested agenda for your 2nd, 3rd, and 4th meetings
  • How to answer questions from Pioneers
  • Supporting material

You can access this module here

5. In-person activity best practices

This module outlines the guidance Stitch provides for running a successful in-person activity.

You don’t need to have organized in-person activities to be a Mentor, so you don’t need to be an expert in running in-person events. You just need to be able to provide give the guidance we provide to the Pioneers in your group, discuss their progress with them, and give them as much encouragement as you can. Of course, if you want to follow some of these guidelines in your own area too, go for it!

This module includes:

  • Recommended event types
  • Times & locations
  • Communication before the event
  • Using Stitch’s settings to be most effective
  • Communication during the event
  • Communication after the event

You can access this module here.

6. Getting the support you need

This module outlines how you get the support you need to be a great mentor throughout the lifetime of your Mentoring Group.

Learning to be a Mentor doesn’t happen overnight; we’re not expecting you to read the training program once and be instantly perfect. It’s an ongoing learning process, and you need to be supported as a Mentor, just as the Pioneers need to be supported in their journey.

The program itself is also still very new, so you’ll be playing an important role helping us understand what support and information you need, so that we can give even better support to the Mentors who join the program after you.

This module includes:

  • Role of the Mentor Support Group
  • How to get support as a Mentor
  • When to refer Pioneers to Stitch Support
  • Other supporting information

You can access this module here.

7. Common Questions

This module covers Frequently Asked Questions for the program.

You can access this module here.

8. Next steps

The final module helps you check that you’re ready to start your first Pioneer Group, and then gives you the steps to get started. It includes:

  • Completing the Pioneer Mentor Quiz
  • Doing a trial run with the Stitch team
  • Choosing the time for your mentoring group
  • Getting started

You can access this module here.

OK, are you ready to get started? Let’s kick things off by having a quick read of Module 1: Program Overview

Click the button below to get started!

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