Before the official founding of Joy as Resistance, Founder & Executive Director, Bre Donnelly, conducted several pilot initiatives to co-create our services with the youth we serve.

The “Mentorship Co-Creation and Design Pilot” included seven queer youth and adults, a one hour Mentor training, one hour of Mentee/Mentor pairing time, and one hour of co-design discussion.

Attendees used words such as joy, gratitude, exciting, and happy to describe their experience during this pilot initiative. 94% of attendees reported having more hope for the future after the session. 100% of attendees stated they wanted to stay connected to the mentorship program.

Big Queer, Little Queer has existed for almost a year and a half, and continues to grow in participants and new ideas every day! We love iterating with Mentors and Mentees to assess and meet new community needs as they arise.

1. Mentees will create an Introduction Letter to share with potential Mentors and submit the Introduction Letter as part of the program application.

2. Mentees submit the Mentee Application Form found above. If you do not have access to a Google account to submit the Google form, email doen@joyasresistance.org for next steps.

3. The Mentorship Manager will reach out to you through email after you submit your application.

4. The Mentorship Manager will schedule a 30 minute initial meeting over Zoom to get you connected to the program and answer any questions.

5. Mentees will be provided with a Mentee Consent form and media release. This document will need to be signed by you and a parent/guardian if you are under 18. If you are over 18, the document only needs to be signed by the Mentee.

1. Mentors will create an Introduction Letter to share with potential Mentees and submit the Introduction Letter as part of the program application.

2. Mentors submit the Mentor Application Form found above. If you do not have access to a Google account to submit the Google form, email doen@joyasresistance.org for next steps.

3. The Mentorship Manager will reach out to you through email after you submit your application.

4. Mentors are required to attend a Mentor Training.

5. Mentors will be provided with a Mentor Consent form and media release to sign.

6. Mentors will have a choice of submitting 2 - 3 references and/or setting up a 30 minute interview with the Mentorship Manager. This meeting allows you to ask any questions you have.

7. Mentors will be required to complete a background check.

Throughout the application process, the Mentorship Manager may choose not to move forward with your application if you are not a good fit for the program. If that is the case, the Mentorship Manager will have a conversation with you.

Mentees will be provided with 2-3 options for a match after submitting their application and have 3 business days to notify the Mentorship Manager of their selection.

Mentors will have 3 business days after being notified that they were chosen to confirm the match.

Mentors and Mentees will both attend an initial Match Meeting facilitated by the Mentorship Manager on Zoom within 2 weeks of match confirmation as a first meeting.

After the Match Meeting, the Mentorship Manager will follow up with both Mentee and Mentor to confirm that the match feels like a good fit.

If both parties agree, they are officially matched and can exchange contact information and begin to develop their relationship.

We host a Mentor Training for new Mentors every other month. We alternate between an in-person location and a virtual Zoom meeting for the training. The training is currently led by the Mentorship Manager. In the future, we would love to have youth in the mentorship program lead the training with the support of Joy as Resistance staff. The training is vetted by the Joy as Resistance staff, our Youth Advisory Board, and our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion committee before presentation occurs to ensure the content is aligned with our values.

These 2 hour trainings touch on:

-Theoretical frameworks and foundations of the Big Queer, Little Queer program

-Anti-racism and anti-oppression training content

-Appropriate boundaries for mentoring relationships

-Mandatory reporting

-Tips for connecting with youth

-Clear contact/communication guidelines

Our next Mentor Training is Thursday, November 17th (held virtually).

Our Mentorship Manager will provide information about the following:

-Theoretical frameworks and foundations of the Big Queer, Little Queer program

-Anti-racism and anti-oppression Mentor Training content

-Appropriate boundaries for mentoring relationships

-Mandatory reporting

-Clear contact/communication guidelines

Our Mentorship Manager will maintain consistent contact with new Mentees to provide support throughout the matching process.

We ask that Mentors and Mentees check in with the Mentorship Manager at least once a month so that we can support you in your mentoring relationship. Mentees and Mentors can touch base through a 20 minute meeting or by completing a Google survey form.

Mentors are required to have 2 touch points (call, meeting, Zoom, text, email, etc.) with the Mentee per month. Mentees and Mentors can decide upon a cadence and frequency that works for them but the minimum will be 2 times per month

Mentees or Mentors can decide they no longer want to be matched or want to be matched with an additional Mentee or Mentor depending on the needs of the person.

An email to our Mentorship Manager explaining the desire for a switch will begin the process of re-matching or an additional match.

When a relationship is coming to an end in the near future, the Mentor or Mentee will reach out to the Mentorship Manager to let them know and also communicate to their Mentor/Mentee. The Match will be closed out and the Mentor/Mentee will be asked if they would like a new match or not.

We host Community Events quarterly for Mentees and Mentors to expand their networks beyond their individual matches. Community Events are optional to participate in and open to unmatched or matched Mentors and Mentees.

We’ve had so much success with our Community Events so far. Our June Pride-themed Community Event featured queer youth and adult storytellers, and over 30 community members attended! We also host Community Events around holidays, such as our Halloween-themed gathering this October.