The Montville Recreation Program offers an opportunity for
students ages eight and up to become "mentors" to children with special
needs, enabling these children to participate in various recreation
programs with the assistance of a "buddy." This volunteer program is
run by the Montville Township Recreation Department and encourages
community acceptance and awareness on all levels.
How to become a mentor for Pathways
Mentoring begins with a two-hour training workshop
that provides information on various diagnoses and
teaches you how to be a friend to children with
special needs and assist them in many ways.
It
offers hands-on experience and interaction, plus
workstations where children actually get to feel
what having a disability is like.
Melinda Jennis, physical therapist who works with the pediatric
population, leads this workshop, which is offered several times a year. Early
registration is suggested, as classes fill up fast.
After completing the training, mentors
can assist children with special
needs at
any of the recreation programs offered through the Montville Township
Recreation Department or the Morris County
Challenger League and get certificates of
community service from Pathways for their hours volunteered. Mentors receive a monthly
newsletter listing new programs.
Next Mentor Training Workshop:
To be scheduled
4:00pm-6:00pm
Montville Township Municipal Building
195 Changebridge Road,
Montville NJ 07045
Download a registration form
You must pre-register: Due to high demand, you must register prior to the
training. Registration is $10, first-come,
first-served. Maximum 25 per class. If a class is
full, you'll go on a waiting list for the next
available spot. We cannot take same-day arrivals.
If you can't make it, contact us as early as
possible so the next person waiting can take your
place.
At
completion of the
training, you'll receive our Mentor t-shirt. If you miss
the training without cancelling, you will forfeit the t-shirt and
the $10. Parents are welcome to stay and see what it's
about.
To register:
Send us
a completed form with $10
fee (cash or check). You will receive an email
confirmation of your registration.
Make
check payable to: Pathways for Exceptional
Children
Return your
registration by:
Mail: Pathways Mentor
Training, 11 Glenwood Dr., Montville, NJ 07045
Drop-off:
Payment
Drop Box, Municipal Building, 195 Changebridge Road.
Mark the envelope “Recreation / Pathways.”
Questions? Call
973-856-9587
or
email
mentor4pathways@yahoo.com
Signing up for programs
Before mentors can participate in any
Pathways programs, we must have signed
permission (the top section of the
Mentor Permission/Registration form) if the
mentor is under 18. Please print, fill it out and
send
to
Pathways Mentor Program, 11 Glenwood Dr.,
Montville, NJ 07045.
A new permission slip is required each year.
Mentors must sign up for the programs they
want. Sign up is on a first-come,
first-served basis.
Programs
are listed in our Mentor News, which is
emailed monthly to mentors and accessible on
the
Mentors' Page.
To sign up for a program, send an email
to
mentor4pathways@yahoo.com or call
973-856-9587
and leave a detailed message.
Mentors are
responsible for signing in at every session in
order to get credit for the time they volunteer.
When arriving at a class, check in with the
coordinator taking attendance.
If you
are a mentor and not receiving the
newsletter, email
mentor4pathways@yahoo.com.
Mentors can participate in the following programs:
(Detailed information about these programs may be
found under
Children's Programs)
Recreation and Team Sports:
Mentors can volunteer to assist at a variety of programs
modified for children with special needs. Team sports
include rugby, soccer, basketball, baseball, lacrosse,
pillo polo, tennis, and bowling. Recreational
programs include dance, swimming, performing arts,
music, social games, etc. All programs have on-site supervision by
Pathways representatives, teachers and/or
coaches. Mentors do not need prior experience or
skill in the activities. Mentors check in at each
class and get certificates of community service
for the time they participated.
Magic of Reading and
Writing:
This is an
after-school
program run by certified teachers where mentors
are "reading and writing buddies" for children
ages 5-11 that struggle with reading.
The
program provides a fun, positive atmosphere
where games are used for learning
and reinforcing
skills. Classes run on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons throughout the
year. Mentors
can sign up to volunteer during a six-week
session, then attend on the days that fit their schedule.
They receive community service for the
hours they log on the time sheet in the
classroom.
Learning Through Life:
This is a series of classes
designed to teach
children with special needs life skills to help them function more independently,
such as talking on the telephone, cooking,
shopping, money management, going to a movie and
restaurant, social skills, etc. Mentors
volunteer at classes and on field
trips to help reinforce these life skills to their "buddies."
Project Win-Win:
This is an employment training
program where children ages
12-21 with
special needs explore a variety of careers and
learn basic skills to enter the work force after
high school. Mentors 16 and up can become paid job
coaches in this program; mentors 13-15 can
volunteer to assist for community service. Job
coaches will be teamed up with students and
receive training by program instructors and
experienced field professionals in the classroom
and on actual job sites.
Download a job coach flyer.
Pathways Home-Based Buddies: This is a
one-on-one program where a mentor is paired up
with a child with special needs
and
sets up their own schedule to visit the child's
home for play dates,
to be a
companion, or a homework buddy. The parent or
guardian of that child remains on site to
provide supervision and training on how to work with
their child. Mentors log their hours on a time sheet
and submit it to us for community service credit
on an annual basis.
Lead Mentor Program: This program for mentors in
6th grade and above provides
hands-on experience in leadership, education,
recreation, and social reform as it relates to
people with disabilities.
Mentors must apply for acceptance into the
program. The
term runs September to September. Lead mentors
attend monthly
meetings,
develop programs, publish articles in the media,
design promotional materials, do public speaking, fundraising,
and individual projects.
Lead mentors can be selected to receive a post-secondary
scholarship for outstanding performance. To see
activities from last year,
click here.
Challenger League: The Morris County Challenger League
invites anyone who completes our Mentor Training
to mentor on their teams. Their league offers
activities such as baseball, soccer, bowling,
basketball, etc. to children with special needs
from all over Morris County.
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