Self Esteem
As demonstrated by such indicators as
- Confidence
- Ability to express feelings
- Decision making and problem solving
- Interests and hobbies
- Future focus
01 Our programmes
Mentoring, structured so that it actually lasts.
BOOM serves more than 400 young people each year. The programme is built on the successful 100-year-old youth mentoring model of Big Brothers Big Sisters, emphasising youth development based on the strengths of the child never their deficits.
4–8School grades BOOM serves
400+Young people every year
2Programmes running in the Bronx
1 yrMinimum mentor commitment
55
Photographs on this page
What mentees do: homework help, talent shows, service days, field trips, arts and crafts, and sport.
02 / Programme one
BOOM: Bronx One-on-One Mentoring
A one-on-one mentoring programme that pairs caring adult volunteers with at-risk youth in grades 4 through 8. Strategies are designed to engage community members as mentors, role models and programme partners in BOOM’s mission to support constructive, asset-building relationships, activities and opportunities for the youth most in need.
Structure of a mentoring session
- 01Site-based. The mentor meets the mentee at the school, inside the school day.
- 02Community-based. The mentor picks their mentee up at home and they meet out in the neighbourhood.
- 03At least an hour a week. In practice, matches typically met for two hours per session, every week.
- 04Grades 4–8, over 100 youth a year — students who represent the highest risk of educational failure, dropping out, or involvement in delinquent activity.
- 05Tutoring alongside mentoring. Participants were offered tutoring at two sites, three times per week, three hours per day, over a nine-month period — plus fitness activities and youth development workshops.
- 06Parents are included. Parents of students new to the programme take part in parent informational meetings once each month.
4–8The school grades BOOM is built for
100+Youth a year at the highest risk of educational failure
1 hrWeekly minimum — most matches met for two
3 ×Tutoring sessions a week, three hours a day, across nine months
03 / Best practice
Two mentors, two mentees, one shared afternoon
ALANY partnered with Big Brothers Big Sisters in its initial implementation of BOOM, and applies the best practice of a “Two-by-Two” mentoring system recommended by the national BBBS partnership.
It means that while mentors and youth are matched individually, one-on-one, two mentees paired with two mentors will participate in many of the activities together.
The one-to-one bond stays completely intact. The shared activities remove the awkwardness of a brand new match, build peer friendships between the mentees, and make it far easier for a new pair to find its footing in the first difficult months — the months in which matches are most likely to fail.
04 By the numbers
What a year inside the programme looks like
0+
Young people served every single year
0hr
Weekly minimum — most matches met for two
0mo
The commitment every mentor signs before they are accepted
0mo
Tutoring at two sites, three days a week, three hours a day
0+
Career manifestations mentees are exposed to
05 / Development areas
The three things a mentor helps build
Schools work with ALANY to identify and recruit at-risk and high-risk youth, and ALANY matches them with caring, culturally competent adult mentors. Those trained role-model mentors provide one-on-one friendship, guidance, support and encouragement to assist youth in developing three areas — each one measured by concrete indicators.
Competence
As demonstrated by
- Academic performance
- School and community participation
- Attitude towards school and classroom participation
- Homework preparedness and school behaviour
- Avoiding delinquency, substance abuse and early parenting
Caring
As demonstrated by
- One’s relationship with the mentor
- Relationships with peers
- Relationships with teachers and other adults
- Respect for diverse cultures
06 / Programme two
BOOM C5 Thrive: mentoring children of prisoners
A community-based one-on-one mentoring programme serving children of prisoners who live in Bronx County, between the ages of 8 and 18. Funded by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Administration on Children, Youth and Families, under Grant Award No. 90CV0471.
How the programme runs
- 01Mentors meet mentees at community-based locations, never at a school site.
- 02A minimum of two hours, once a week, for a duration lasting at least one year.
- 03Over three years the programme was designed to match 200 children — 60 in year one, and 70 in each of years two and three.
- 04Mentor retention rates targeted to increase by 25% across the project period.
The five C’s of positive youth development
The objective is to provide children of prisoners with healthy, nurturing and well-bonded mentoring relationships that promote:
CCharacterA settled sense of right, wrong and self
CCompetenciesSocial and applied life skills
CConfidenceBuilt through skills in self-expression
CContributionA desire to give time to positive goals
CConnectivityA real link to the community around them
4–18The age range servedChildren of prisoners in Bronx County — a population that is underserved and, because of stigma and under-reporting, often invisible.
200Children to be matched200 children of prisoners matched with 200 responsible mentors by the end of the programme’s third year.
13kThe need in the BronxOver 13,000 youths in Bronx County have one or more incarcerated parents.
Following established models, our program creates healthy, nurturing and well bonded relationships that promote the five Cs of positive youth development: character, competencies, confidence, contribution, and connectivity with community.Israel Rodriguez, President & CEO — American Latin Association of New York
07 / How a match is made
From application to a year-long relationship
Identifying and training mentors who can make long-term stable commitments is vital. When mentors are unable to maintain relationships lasting more than six months, the effect on the mentee can be adverse — so ALANY screens hard and supports continuously.
Formal application
A formal application including references, employment information and character profile information, in addition to essential data.
In-person screening interview
Used to determine motivation to fulfil the requirement of weekly mentoring for a minimum of a year, and to provide an opportunity for character assessment.
Complete background check
Federal, state and local criminal records registries, child and domestic abuse registries, and the national sex offender registry — plus a minimum of three checked references.
A commitment oath
Applicants sign a commitment oath prior to acceptance, demonstrating a good-faith intention to maintain weekly mentoring for at least one year.
Training before the first meeting
Trainings are conducted by the Mentoring Partnership of New York, with handbooks and resource booklets, followed by ongoing monthly workshops on communication with children, developmental stages of youth, and asset building.
The match itself
Adult and youth profile forms are uploaded to a databank recording interests, needs and strengths. Matches are made on consistency of shared interests, pairing mentor strengths against mentee needs, and geographic proximity.
Supervision that does not stop
Community Mentor Coordinators check in formally with mentors and mentees separately every month. Mentees receive “My Life Events” books to document their own experiences, and mentors have a peer support group that meets bi-monthly.
08 / What mentees actually do
Activities, in the programme’s own record
The list below is taken directly from ALANY’s final report to the U.S. Department of Education, answering the question “What kinds of activities did mentors and students participate in?”
- 01Homework help
- 02Arts & crafts — jewellery making, bracelet making, drawing, painting
- 03Made sleeping bags from scratch and donated them to a homeless shelter
- 04Raised money through bake sales to buy toys that were donated to a children’s hospital
- 05Put together a talent show
- 06Created an original board game
- 07Made clay from scratch and made sculptures with it
- 08Made homemade ice cream from scratch
- 09Played board games — Monopoly, chess, Trouble, Clue
- 10Played different sports and organised small tournaments
- 11Made candles from scratch and made baskets for parents
- 12Field trips, cultural events and theatrical productions
09 On the ground
The afternoons themselves
Service days, the family dinner, the holiday party and the donation drives. Use the arrows to move through them; select a photo to enlarge it.
10 Beyond the school gate
Out in the city
Mentors and mentees attend sporting events such as New York Yankees games and college basketball; cultural events including the Dominican Day Parade, the Puerto Rican Day Parade and the West Indian Carnival; exhibit openings across New York City’s museums and children’s art programmes at the Natural History Museum and the Museum of Modern Art.
Civic-awareness activities include community gardening programmes, Earth Day activities and age-appropriate volunteering, alongside visits to the Bronx Zoo and the Bronx and Brooklyn Botanical Gardens — and quiet one-on-one time at cafés, restaurants and libraries.
11 / Photo gallery
The programme in action
A further 32 photographs from BOOM sessions, talent shows, service days, family events and outreach across the borough — none of them repeated from the sections above. Filter by what you want to see; select any image to open it full size, then use the arrow keys to move between photos.
Showing 32 of 32 photographs
12 Take part
Every match starts with someone volunteering.
BOOM needs mentors, partner organisations and referrals — and it needs funding for the activities, materials and transport that keep matches together through the year.
What a mentor commits to
- At least one hour every week
- A minimum commitment of one year
- Screening, background check and three references
- Training before the first meeting, then monthly
Call (347) 590-0285 or email Israel@americanlatin.org