Program elements include weekly meetings, Adventure Weekend retreats, an annual experiential mentor training, and ongoing training and support for carefully selected and screened mentors. Our target demographic is male-identifying youth ages 12-17.
AFTER-SCHOOL
PROGRAMS
Ongoing support for youth with peers and dedicated, trained mentors
Adventure
weekends
A life changing experience of growth and healing youth will never forget
Virtual
Mentoring
Leveraging technology to stay on the cutting edge of youth mentoring
Mentor
Training
Helping men deliver on their desire to guide and support young people
AFTER-SCHOOL PROGRAMS
Every week Boys to Men mentors show up to offer boys:
- A community of mentors and role models who listen, encourage and believe in them.
- A community of men who model integrity, accountability, compassion and respect.
- A community where participants are empowered to speak their truth, and encouraged to take responsibility for their choices
- A community where participants feel supported, listened to and valued.
- A community where participants see that their peers face similar challenges, and know they are NOT ALONE in their struggles.
The weekly meetings combine learning, fun, leadership opportunities, peer mentoring and exercises to build self-awareness. All meetings are facilitated by one or more Boys to Men staff members, and supported by volunteer mentors. The group meetings range in size from 4 to 40 participants with an average ratio of 4 participants to 1 mentor.
ADVENTURE WEEKENDS
The Adventure Weekend, held every year in the North East since 2006, brings together staff members and participants from throughout the region and is the next important step for the participants as they continue to choose the kind of man they want to become.
The Adventure Weekend is led by experienced facilitators and trained staff, and provides a 2:1 ratio of staff to participants. During the weekend, participants are challenged and supported through a series of carefully facilitated activities designed to help them cope with the ordeals they will face throughout their lives. They learn about integrity. They bond with peers. They learn about courage and service. Our participants and staff members spend more time together on this weekend than a typical mentor program provides in six months.
VIRTUAL MENTORING
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit Canada, we moved all our programming and mentor training online through our secure Zoom platform. We are currently hosting 8 virtual circles a week for all our members. As additional virtual circle facilitators are trained and accredited, we will expand our online offerings to reach even more youth across the nation, providing safe places for them to connect socially and emotionally.
MENTOR TRAINING
Our mentor training programs not only prepare participants for the challenging work of being an effective youth mentor, but also impart resources that increase overall wellbeing, promote healthy relationships with oneself and others, and catalyze personal growth.
Circle Culture Academy
The Circle Culture Academy (CCA) is a training program that lays bare the theoretical and technical building blocks that, when properly assembled, create the aspirational and healing environment unique to circles. Sessions take place in a virtual circle, and the full course spans 16 weekly modules that combine experiential learning, theory, practical skills, group discussion, and practice exercises.
Reclaiming Your Teenage Fire
Our mentor training retreat, Reclaiming Your Teenage Fire, is a one-and-a-half-day workshop that has adults revisit the hopes, fears, dreams, and experiences of adolescence. Participants gain clarity on the price they paid to traverse their adolescence, and have the opportunity to let go of negative behaviour and beliefs they took on – many of which may still be driving their lives today. The powerful connection they will forge with their adolescent selves will become a profound source of energy and insight their daily life, and in their work with youth.