Australian Youth Mentoring Network Media Toolkit
Youth Mentoring Media Kit Contents Be clear right from the start 2 What media wants 2 Media relations are more important than media releases 3 Be prepared 3 Develop a talent list 4 Know who can provide further information 5 Preparing your talent 5-6 Appendices Useful Overarching Key Messages 7 Program Snapshot Form 8 Background of Youth Mentoring in Australia 9 Sample Media Release 11 2
Be clear right from the start When approaching media outlets for coverage ensure that you are very clear about the following: Purpose Your purpose will determine how you approach all aspects of your communications. Audience Think about whom you want your message to be going to and how you can best to reach them. Ensure you know what media reaches what audience. Message Your message should be tailored to each audience. Ensure what you are saying and how you are saying it will appeal. Make your message specific to your geographical area if possible, especially for local media. Medium The differences between television, radio and print media are vast. Think about what it will be like for a mentoring match to sit and be interviewed live in a studio. How will that be different to an interview with a newspaper journalist? Limits Be aware of what your talent or spokesperson should and should not say regarding privacy of participants, your organisation s standpoint and specific program data. What media wants News Tell the media something it doesn t already know. Just because something is second nature to your organisation it doesn t mean it is to everyone else. You should also consider linking your news story into current and local issues that have appeared in the media. Good Talent A real life person with clarity, humour, passion and insider knowledge will help get your story across the line. Self Contained Stories Make it as easy as possible for journalists to run with your story. A journalist will want to access: The idea what is the story about? The expert you, your manager or CEO The case study a mentoring match The data demographic, youth mentoring and program data The visuals film and photo opportunities (if relevant) The call to action donate, volunteer, partner 3
Media relations are more important than media releases Ensure you build relationships with the media. These are far more valuable than shooting out media releases. Know who the relevant journalists are in your area and who covers stories that relate to your work. Offer to have a meet and greet at their convenience where you can let them know about the work you do and pitch a story idea. Provide a couple of pertinent story ideas to help cement you as a reliable source for the journalist. Be prepared Always practice your pitch before making a call. When you make your call to your chosen media outlet you should have your media release/ proposal at hand so it is clear in your mind and you can immediately send it to the journalist if requested. A journalist will want to immediately know the: Who What Where When Why Also be prepared to answer any questions they might have regarding the: The story Your organisation Your program aim and target group Youth mentoring in general Statistics/data Put yourself in the shoes of a journalist and imagine any questions they might ask that may be awkward to answer. Develop solid responses to these questions. 1 Appendices at the end of this kit can assist you with this preparation. 1 Adapted from Hootville Communication s Media Savvy 101 developed for the Victorian Youth Mentoring Alliance, October 2009 4
Develop a talent list Ensure you have a single, trained spokesperson who can be interviewed about the program and the impact it has. This may be the CEO or program coordinator, or it may be a past mentor or young person who can speak about the positive impact of the program. This person should be someone who is across the issues, with real authority who can also communicate to the media effectively. You should consider having an understudy if this key spokesperson is not available. In addition to this spokesperson, it is recommended you have some talent who can back up your story. Who you choose to speak to media will depend on what the purpose of your media pitch is. Your list should include all contact details. The table below gives some examples of potential media pitches and the talent who could provide strength to the story. Event/ Issue Launch of program Celebration of program anniversary or Youth Mentoring Week Reaching a milestone eg 100 th match Mentor learning from mentee Business people taking time out to mentor young people Cross cultural matches Need for more mentors Garner donations Release or report or research about your program Program is being defunded Spokesperson - Local personality who can speak about their experience of being mentored. - Program match who can speak about the impact the program has had in their lives. - 1 st mentoring match and 100 th mentoring match - Program match who can speak how the mentor benefited from the relationship. - Manager of local business. - An employee who is a mentor and the young person they mentor. - A cross cultural program match who can speak about what they ve learnt from each other. - Program co-ordinator speaking about need in community. - Current mentor speaking about how the program works. - Program match who can speak about the impact the program has had in their lives. - Local personality who can talk about why they support youth mentoring above others projects. - Researcher to speak about report. - Program match to discuss qualitative impact program has had on their lives. - Program match who can speak about what impact the program closure will have for them. - Program evaluator (if there is one) speaking about impact of program. 5
Know who can provide further information Develop a list of contacts that can be called on to provide further information for potential media stories. This may include: Mentors and young people (interviews, print, quotes, sound bites and photos). Program coordinator (information and statistics about the program). CEO/ your organisation s communication person (information about the organisation and why it supports youth mentoring). Program funders (quotes on why they support the program). Local MP (interviews, quotes, photo opportunities including importance of initiative like youth mentoring in supporting local youth). Program Patron (photo opportunities, interviews and quotes about why they support the program). Local businesses (quotes and interviews about why they have provided mentors and/ or financial and in kind support). Program partners such as other not-for-profits, schools, churches (quotes and interviews about why they partner and the impact youth mentoring has for young people, mentors and the community more broadly). Preparing your talent Spokesperson Ensure your spokesperson has a one pager to speak to so that the message is clear and consistent. This should include: 1) A clear statement of what the issue/ event is (eg We re celebrating our 100 th mentoring match between a community volunteer and a young person ). 2) A clear statement of the message you re trying to get across (eg our program has a strong history of providing quality youth mentoring experiences to our community ). 3) Provide a story or anecdote (eg the young person who was involved in our first match just graduated from Tafe and still catches up with his mentor every fortnight ). 4) Use some statistics to make your point (eg Since we were established in 2006, our volunteer mentors have spent more than 5000 hours encouraging young people from our community to reach their potential ). 5) Use a real person or personality to demonstrate your point (eg James from the local hardware store has supported our program since we started. He lets his staff take off 2 hours a month to spend time with the young person they mentor. He can talk to you about why he thinks it s so important ). 6) Have a Call to Action. You ve made contact with the media for a reason. Make sure the audience knows how they can get involved (eg We re calling on local 6
business owners to sponsor the program. We need more male mentors and also access to fun activities like ten pin bowling and go-karting ). 2 Mentoring Match Your duty of care involves preventing the unnecessary disclosure of personal information and ensuring you are present with the young person at a media interview. Talk through these questions together before an interview. Mentor Take your mind back. What motivated you to get involved in mentoring? What were you hoping to get out of it? Had you had much to do with young people prior to this? What have you learned about young people since getting involved in the program? How have you mentored? How often are you in touch? What do you do together? Do you use work time and what has been your employer s reaction to you mentoring? What are the highlights of your time so far? What s been challenging or surprising about mentoring? How has your view of mentoring changed now that you ve experienced it? Would you recommend it to others? Why? What support was available to help you to navigate mentoring for the first time? Young people What were your first impressions of your mentor? What types of things have you done with your mentor? What are the highlights of having a mentor so far? How has mentoring helped you? Would you consider becoming a mentor to a young person in the future? What would you say to another young person who was thinking of getting involved in mentoring? Program Snapshot Form Appendix One 2 Adapted from Hootville Communication's Media Savvy 101 - October 2009 7
Contact information Name of program Organisation Contact person Address Phone number Email address History Date program was established Number of mentees matched since establishment How many volunteer hours contributed to date Current Statistics Number of mentees Number of mentors No. of young people on waiting list Program Type of program: (e.g. school / community/ e- mentoring etc) Style of relationship: (1:1 / group /team etc) Program focus Mentees Minimum age of mentees Maximum age of mentees Type of young person your program targets Mentors Role of the mentor Training provided 8
Useful Overarching Key Messages Appendix Two Definition of Youth Mentoring: Youth mentoring is an effective way of providing young people with a supportive and enriching experience. The young person and their mentor meet regularly to build a positive relationship that helps the young person realise their potential. The whole community benefits from youth mentoring. It creates positive links between generations and between people who otherwise may not meet. The evidence shows that youth mentoring positively impacts on the lives of both young people and mentors. Mentoring is many things but at its core lies an affirmation of human relationships and the capacity to enable both young people and mentors to learn and to grow. Mentoring programs require hard work and a commitment to quality practice. Quality mentoring programs require good planning, clear evaluation, strong governance and solid operating procedures. Coaching and tutoring are not mentoring. Mentoring focuses on the relationship while coaching and tutoring focus on skills, performance and targets. Get involved in youth mentoring. Visit youthmentoring.org.au (National) Get involved in youth mentoring. Visit youthmentoringvic.org.au (VIC) Additional key messages for potential mentors and supporters: Youth mentoring. Strengthening communities with real relationships. By helping young people realise their potential, mentors learn new skills, gain experience, and strengthening community. Youth mentoring. Who inspired you? Who are you inspiring? Youth mentoring provides many ways for you to get involved. 9
Appendix Three Background to Youth Mentoring in Australia What is Youth Mentoring? Youth mentoring is a structured and trusting relationship that brings young people together with caring individuals who offer guidance, support and encouragement aimed at developing the competence and character of the mentee. Mentoring in Australia At present there are approximately 260 organisations managing youth mentoring programs across Australia and it is estimated that about 30,000 young Australians are being supported by a mentor. One of the appeals of mentoring programs is the flexible structure in which they can operate. While certain core elements need to be in place for all mentoring programs to be successful, mentoring can occur in various locations, have multiple focuses and work with youth who are in various levels of risk. What does mentoring look like? There are five types of mentoring program categories in Australia: community based, school based, e-mentoring (electronic or virtual mentoring), faith based mentoring and workplace (site). Community Based Mentoring Community based mentoring is usually one to one mentoring where the mentor shows the mentee different social experiences with their local community. These activities can include, going to the movies, parks, playing sport, career exploration, assisting with their homework and teaching them life skills. School Based Mentoring School based mentoring takes place at the mentee's school either during school hours or immediately after. School based programs usually target students at risk of leaving school early, though some schools do open the program to anyone wanting to participate. The activities the mentoring pair partakes in can include tutoring, career exploration, playing games and sports. E-Mentoring (electronic or virtual mentoring) Electronic mentoring uses technology to connect the mentor and the mentee. These programs are used in situations where the mentees are in isolated areas or where there are time constraints. The mentors and mentees communicate through messages using a system similar to email. Messages are monitored by the program. Faith Based Faith based programs are usually attached to a religious organisation or place of worship. The values of the religion are reflected in the programs mission and purpose. The activities that take place in these programs are those similar to community based programs. While the programs may be affiliated with a religious organisation, most will include participants from the whole community and not only from within their congregation. Site/ Workplace Mentoring Workplace mentoring programs work with companies who want to give something back to the local community in which they are working in. The programs usually take place in the work place and include activities such as tutoring, job shadowing, and career 10
exploration. Different Styles of Mentoring Relationships As with the type of mentoring program, the way the mentoring is conducted is also flexible. There are four main styles of mentoring relationships. These four styles are: One to One: One mentor working with one mentee Group: One mentor with up to three young people Team: Two mentors working with up to seven young people Peer: Mentor is in close proximity in age to the young person they are working with. Having a variety of styles of mentoring allows communities the flexibility to choose a combination which will best meet their community s needs. The Benefits of Mentoring Research has shown that mentoring can have a range of positive outcomes for young people including: Being a positive strategy to youth development Being a deterrent for risky behaviour (reduces alcohol, drug taking & criminal activity) Being a way to improve academic performance and retain students in education Assisting with choosing a career and then career development Increasing social networks. 3 Mentoring is a flexible model that works along side other support services a young person may be receiving providing a holistic approach to supporting today s young people. Mentoring is not... Mentoring is not a panacea and it may also not be the right program for all young people. There is no one size fits all model when it comes to mentoring. It is important that every program is designed to suit the needs of the young people it hopes to help in that particular community. Even if a program has worked well in a similar community it must be tailored to suit the particular needs of the new community. Mentoring is no soft option. Mentoring programs require hard work and a commitment to quality practice in order to achieve the successful outcomes. 3 Tierney, J.P., Grossman, J.B., and Resch, N.L. (1995) Making a Difference: An Impact Study of Big Brothers Big Sisters. Philadelphia: Public/Private Ventures 11
Sample Media Release Appendix Four This example uses details from a fictional mentoring program. You will need to tailor the release with local information wherever [fictional descriptions] appear. Too Many [Green Point} Youth on Waiting List [Green Point] Youth Mentoring Program has over 50 young people on their waiting lists. The program already has matched over [40] young people aged between [14 and 18] with a volunteer mentor whose role is to [help them reach their potential]. The young people and their mentors meet on average for [2 hours a fortnight]. The meetings may involve doing fun activities like having a meal together, going to the movies or playing sport. They might also have a more focused purpose such as visiting workplaces or talking about the young person s hopes for the future. Though we have a team of brilliant mentors already working for us, we need another 50 volunteers to ensure no Green Point student is left behind says [Jane Berry], Director of Green Point Youth Mentoring. We need mentors from a range of background who are willing to be non-judgmental and dependable and provide hope and optimism to their mentee. Program Coordinator [Jack Jackson] has seen first hand what a difference mentoring can make: When I first meet Tim, he was what you would consider a bit mischievous. Tim was well known by the local police, not for any major incidents, but for pranks that usually brought the attention of the police. Then we matched Tim with Greg. Greg is a retired builder and he and Tim joined the local Men s Shed together. They meet there every Saturday and work on all sorts of projects. Tim is now looking into going to TAFE and studying carpentry. If you would like to help [Green Point] help more young people like Tim, contact [your name and number]. 12