Collaboration with Skidmore College

Saratoga Mentoring has long term collaboration with Skidmore College. We are pleased to have many students of the college serve as mentors as well as several faculty members and staff members. Below are some of the highlights of our close working relationship with Skidmore College.

1. Our “Saturdays at Skidmore” Program offers college students and community members a unique option for mentoring a child. The children are brought by bus to the college. With on site staff support, mentors and kids spend several hours together enjoying activities on campus. Each match is also welcome to join the group activities and parties held in a central location on campus. Games and art supplies are always available. Children enrolled in both Saratoga Mentoring and Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Capital Region are included in “Saturdays  at Skidmore.”


2. The Community Service Department at Skidmore College links students who would like to mentor with Saratoga Mentoring, serving as a liaison for our program with the college. Approximately 30% of the mentors are students at Skidmore. Children enrolled in Saratoga Mentoring have taken part in the annual Skidmore ‘pre-freshman” orientation each summer for in coming students who wish to learn more about volunteering in the Saratoga Community.


3. Skidmore College Dining Services donates meal passes for the children who attend the “Saturdays at Skidmore Program”.


4. The Community Service Club, Benef-Actions of Skidmore College, works closely with Saratoga Mentoring to provide group activities for mentors and the youth in both Saratoga Mentoring and Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Capital Region. Each semester, Benef-Actions host numerous parties and events which include games, entertainment, refreshments and sports events. Recent events include a Fall Festival, Valentine’s Day Party, Multi Cultural Party, and an annual Spring Fling. All mentors are invited to these events, both Skidmore volunteers as well as adult mentors involved in our program.


5. Saratoga Mentoring provides summer and year round internships for students at Skidmore who are studying social work, education, marketing and other fields. In addition, students from the college work in the Saratoga Mentoring Program office, as part of the college Work Study Program. These students provide valuable support to our staff. For example, students at Skidmore have created professional quality promotional material for our program. In 2007, the Skidmore College Social Work Department (under the leadership of Professor Crystal Moore) is embarking on a research project to examine the long term impact of mentoring on the children enrolled in Saratoga Mentoring.

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Skidmore College
Community