Engage with Students
Preparing Students for the Future
Our Student Programs are designed to equip and prepare students for their future learning and career goals. Most students in our programs are the first in their family considering college and cannot turn to their parents for help with their homework or for guidance in the college application and scholarship process. Guidance to navigate postsecondary education is difficult to access in Collier middle and high schools. There is approximately one school counselor for every three hundred eighty students in Collier County Public Schools (Florida DOE 2022-23 Mental Health Application – Collier; data as of August 1, 2022). This is well beyond the one to two hundred fifty recommended by The American School Counselor Association.
Mentoring provides students with the encouragement and empowerment to identify and achieve personal and professional goals, while coaching helps students gain valuable skills. With the aid of our changemakers, students receive support as they work towards high school graduation and postsecondary education or technical training.
Whether you’re looking for a weekly commitment or a one-off experience, we have numerous volunteer roles to complement your interests and schedule.
Volunteer orientation or training is provided as needed. Keep in mind some roles have ongoing availability, while others only occur during specific times of the year.
Multiple Volunteer Opportunities
Take Stock In Children Mentor
Mentors are often the first non-authority, adult relationship a student forms, and they provide guidance, motivation, support, and role-modeling to grow a mentee’s life skills.
- Meet with the same student through his/her high school graduation
- Meetings occur on school grounds over lunch or through an approved video application
- Mentors are matched with students in the Spring
- Mentors are required to meet with their student a minimum of 16 sessions per academic year
- Each session must be a minimum 20-minutes
- Resident of Lee or Collier County for at least 2 years (whether year-round or seasonal residency)
- Successfully complete clearance process including background checks and reference checks
To learn more about becoming a Take Stock In Children Mentor, join us for an All About Mentoring session
Entrepreneurship Mentor
Students enrolled in Collier County Public School’s Entrepreneurship Program, create and fully develop their own product or service while also discussing foundational business topics. Mentors facilitate learning differently than directly teaching by encouraging students to find solutions themselves.
- Mentors meet with the same student team throughout the school year
- Meetings occur on school grounds during Entrepreneurship class periods
Mentors are expected to meet with their student teams on school grounds once a week for at least an hour. The energy and effort increases before key milestones such as the Minimum Viable Product Pitch near the academic year’s mid-point and at the year’s end for Investor Pitch.
- Mentors are matched with their teams in the fall
- Sessions occur once a week from October to April and are a minimum of one hour each time
- Resident of Lee or Collier County
- Successfully complete the clearance process including background checks
To learn more about becoming an Entrepreneurship Mentor, join us for an Entrepreneurship 101 session.
Student Selection Committee
Our Student Selection Committees are selected groups of community individuals who read, review, and score student applications or essays for scholarships and/or acceptance into one of our programs.
- Read, review, and score student essays for scholarships and/or acceptance into one of our programs
- Work in teams – meet new people!
- Various committees occur between September to April depending on the application deadline of each selection process
- Total time can range from 10 to 15 hours
- Meetings can be remote or in-person based on committee type
College And Career Coach
Help high school students build personal and professional skills through a lab or workshop. Champions For Learning has developed a curriculum to better prepare our students for post-high school success.
- Participate in a topic-based workshop including college applications, scholarship essays, test prep, etiquette, career exploration, interview skills, resume building, public speaking, networking, goal setting, personal statements, and more
- Timing of each workshop depends on the topic and occurs at various times during the year based on the curriculum
- Workshops can be remote and in-person based on topic
Why I Volunteer
Help us
make a difference
