In January 2008, United Way partnered with Pitney Bowes, Bridgeport Public Schools, Bridgeport Board of Education, School Volunteer Association and Bridgeport Public Education Schools to launch Wi-mentor, an innovative internet-based mentoring program. Within a year Wi-mentor had grown from serving forty-three to one hundred and eight high school students.

 

Wi-mentor enjoys the support from many area corporations, associations and agencies, including Sikorsky Aircraft, Health Net, GE, RBS Card Services, United Illuminating, Southwestern AHEC, St. Vincent’s Medical Center, Bridgeport Hospital and community-based agencies. 

     

Wi-mentor serves high school students in Bridgeport and Stratford, CT at Warren Harding, Bassick and Stratford High Schools, Make the Grade Opportunity School and The Bridge Academy.  In total, one hundred and sixty students participate in Wi-mentor every program year.

The program year begins with a rigorous matching process where program staff uses information gathered about the mentors, including hobbies, interests, work and life experiences, college majors, etc., and compare it to the specific wants and needs of students to ensure that the best possible matches between mentors and mentees are made. All matches are based on commonalities found between a mentor and mentee. 

 

One-on-one Mentor-Mentee Matches build friendships through weekly email correspondence. While students attend weekly “Wi-mentor Sessions” during structured class time, mentors email at their leisure – at night, during lunch or over the weekend. A Program Coordinator attends, coordinates and facilitates the student sessions, offering both technical and writing support to students.
 
Program Coordinators screen all emails sent via the platform to ensure that nothing untoward is communicated and to monitor each individual relationship.  Much of the support and guidance offered to mentors and mentees is based on the information gathered from the emails.

 

Our hope is that mentor-mentee matches build strong friendships that last for a lifetime. If a mentor-mentee match wants to continue getting to know each other after the program year is over, Wi-mentor will make it happen through its Alumni Pairs Program. Through the Alumni Pairs Program, matches continue emailing each other and meeting at program-sponsored events on a regular basis.