PAL PLUS PROGRAM
community and school-based mentoring program
PROGRAMS
Community and school-based mentoring program that matches youth in Rogers County with a caring adult mentor. The mentor strives to be the youth’s friend, role model, motivator, and personal advocate.
PAL PLUS PROGRAM
Youth are referred to the PAL+ Program by one of the various community partners of Volunteers for Youth. Some of these referral partners are Claremore Public Schools, First United Methodist Celebrate Recovery group, and Rogers County Drug Abuse Program. This referral can be for a variety of reasons. A common reason for referral is that the youth is seen as someone who could benefit from having a caring adult as a friend and advocate.
Mentors meet with their mentee once a week for about an hour at school, the Claremore Community Center, or a designated public meeting location. Mentors are asked to commit to meeting with their mentee for one year. Ideally, both the mentor and mentee decide to continue meeting the following year and the match evolves into a long-term relationship.
CARE PAL PROGRAM
Care PALs is a group mentoring program under the PAL+ Mentoring Program umbrella. Through partnership with CARE Rescue out of Catoosa, Oklahoma, and Rogers County Youth Services(RCYS), Volunteers for Youth offers a once-a-week dog training program for youth enrolled in the RCYS U-Turn program, the alternative learning school that is housed in the same office building as Volunteers for Youth. Throughout this program, youth have the opportunity to take ownership for training a dog learning interpersonal and leadership skills. Some of the skills the youth have the opportunity to teach the dogs are: controlled walking, sit-stay, heeling.