Positive and high expectations

Children in the BEST Kids™ Mentoring Program will succeed. We believe in them and our children will grow to believe in themselves. Our positive expectations of the children include goal setting that is individualized to each child’s needs, abilities, and gifts.

Youth participation

Mentoring is a two-way street. While the mentor will guide the child, the mentor also encourages the child to contribute his own solutions to problems and to set goals for himself. In this way, the child comes to accept responsibility for his future, and also learns that his viewpoints are important and respected.

Generosity and the “giving spirit”

Passion for life is nurtured by concern for others and commitment beyond one’s self. “I have a purpose for my life.” These youth will perform community service in their own communities on a regular basis. The older mentored youth in our program will tutor or mentor the younger ones.

Mastery of skills

We will encourage competency in a variety of areas and provide ample opportunities for meaningful achievements. Our kids will be able to say, “I am good at something.”

Social skills

Washington, DC, is one of the most culturally diverse cities in the nation. BEST Kids recognizes that children and mentors may have common experiences, but also that each will bring to the relationship different mores and understanding of socially acceptable behavior. Actions that may seem normal in one neighborhood, may seem inappropriate in another. The BEST Kids Mentoring Program training is designed to make the mentors more sensitive to the culture in which these children have been raised, but at the same time, enable the mentors to help the children adopt the attitudes that will equip them to operate successfully in the larger society.

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