TeamMates is a one-to-one, school-based mentoring program with over 135 local chapters across Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, and Wyoming. Each chapter is a partnership between the school district, community, and TeamMates – bringing together experts in mentoring and the needs of youth to produce high quality mentoring relationships.
To see if your community, or one nearby, currently has a TeamMates chapter, check out TeamMates Chapter pages.
School Districts are active participants in a TeamMates chapter, providing youth and their mentors with space to meet in the school buildings, providing transportation to TeamMates group events (like Nebraska football’s Spring Game or the Omaha Zoo Graduation Celebration), and providing a school staff member with time to serve as the Program Coordinator for the local chapter. School district support for the chapter is necessary because of the key impact it has on match quality and the overall outcomes of mentoring relationships for youth.
Community support for TeamMates is critical because of the continual need for volunteer adult mentors. In most communities, there are more students who desire to have a mentor than there are adults willing to commit to a mentoring relationship. Building partnerships with key individuals, companies, and organizations in the community helps develop the pool of mentors for the chapter and to raise the funds for mentor-mentee matches to participate in TeamMates group events and celebrations.
TeamMates provides chapters with a high-quality, low-cost mentoring model proven to have a positive impact on youth. TeamMates adheres to the Elements of Effective Practice, the national standards for mentoring, and uses internal evaluation to continually build on its already successful model. As a result, TeamMates youth receive mentoring services based on the latest national research and designed to provide safe and effective relationships for mentors and mentees alike.
