2009 Northeast Regional Mentoring Conference - United Hands for Mentoring

SMILES Mentoring attended the 2009 Northeast Regional Mentoring Conference "United Hands for Mentoring" in Providence, RI this past week. Over 50 mentoring programs were in attendance from Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Maine, Vermont and even Canada! The conference kicked off with a wonderful reception at the Providence Marriott, followed by thought provoking workshops and keynote speakers on Friday.

The planning of the conference was spearheaded by the Rhode Island Mentoring Partnership. They recruited many generous sponsors, most notable being the Premiere Event Sponsor - Webster Bank and the Reception Sponsor - SWAROVSKI.

All of the SMILES full-time staff members attended the conference and learned/ shared many innovative ideas at the workshops offered. We attended cultural competency in mentoring, the role of business, fundraising strategies and many more! Though the workshops were very informative, the lunchtime keynote speaker, Charlie Appelstein, shared messages that will stay with all of our staff for years to come.

Charlie Appelstein's humor, compassion, creativity and understanding of youth has helped thousands of youth, parents, mentors, teachers. Described as "the best youth care trainer in America" by Robert Lieberman, former president of the American Association of Children's Residential Centers, Charlie has devoted his entire adult career to helping at-risk kids and those who care for them. The hopeful message which Charlie brought with him that day was that if a child has at least one person (that's you mentor!) who thinks they are TERRIFIC, their odds of overcoming obstacles in their life skyrockets! Charlie is also the best selling author of "No Such Thing as a Bad Kid" (which is available at our office for loan).

Charlie's Strength-Based Beliefs & Terminology

Pejorative Label //// Positive, Hope-Based Reframe
Obnoxious //// Good at pushing people away
Rude, arrogant //// Good at affecting people
Resistant //// Cautious
Lazy, un-invested //// Good at preventing further hurts, failures
Manipulative //// Good at getting needs met
Just looking for attention//// Good at caring about and loving yourself
Close-mouthed //// Loyal to family or friends
Different, odd //// Under-appreciated
Stubborn & defiant //// Good at standing up for yourself
Tantrum, fit, outburst //// Big message
Learning disability //// Roadblocks