Youth Futures: Mentoring for At-Risk Children

Each Youth Futures “Mentor” works with 16 at-risk children over the course of three years, teaching skills for academic improvement and social integration that last a lifetime.

Youth Futures is a Jewish Agency flagship program that provides community-based mentoring for at-risk pre-teens and adolescents in Israel.

Trained mentors work as trusted guides to help students improve school performance, strengthen social integration, and inspire engagement with the community.

The Mentors also connect youth, families, and communities with the services and local resources to help them overcome barriers to success.

In the 2012-13 school year, 400 staff members worked with 12,000 students and their families in 35 communities.

We run two subsidiary programs within the Youth Futures framework which focus on families and on schools:

Family Futures: Targeted Mentoring for At-Risk Families pairs specially-trained Family Mentors with parents of at-risk students in cases where family disorder is particularly problematic. Family Futures helps families with personal finances, parenting, and relationship skills.

The Impact Project: Youth Futures for Schools introduces and implements the Youth Futures model into Israeli schools through teacher-training, parent workshops, and workshops for larger groups of students. The program aims to maximize students’ potential in schools which do not serve populations in acute need, but would still benefit from implementing the Youth Futures approach in the lives of students, families, and communities.

Youth Futures: Mentoring for At-Risk Children

Each Youth Futures “Mentor” works with 16 at-risk children over the course of three years, teaching skills for academic improvement and social integration that last a lifetime.

More about Youth Futures: Mentoring for At-Risk Children

Youth Futures