Disrupting The Teen Mentoring Industry
Show Notes
Raise your hand if you ever had a mentor that changed your life.
And I mean really got into the weeds with you and helped you realize your worth.
If you are one of the lucky people to say yes to that with your hand up, then you are in a much smaller group than you might realize.
Now watch that group get smaller.
Raise your other hand if you have taken the time to mentor a teen in need.
If you are like most people, you will probably only have one or no hands up at all.
It is a tough pill to swallow, grasping that we live in such an interconnected world where mentorship is a fun buzzword that is, more often than not, foreign to us.
Tragically, we are in a time where the next generation needs us to awkwardly have both of our hands up, high-fiving ourselves reading this.
In recent years, any parent or family member knows of or has heard of a tragedy, mental illness, or stressor that teens today have gone through.
With the recent pandemic, shutdown, the explosion of comparison culture on social media, and much more, teens are now going through more than ever.
With that, it makes three core questions more difficult to decipher and answer, leading to three of the most significant issues teens face today.
3 Core Hurts and Needs of Teens
They do not have a connection to their identity → Who am I?
They do not have a connection to their purpose → Why am I here?
They do not have a connection to their sense of belonging → Where do I fit in?
So many programs around the country have fought to help teens answer these questions without getting too lost or hurt in the process. Unfortunately, all of the largest teen mentoring organizations combined still only impact 1% of teens in America.
But we can do better. They need us to do better.
Building a mentor model that is scalable and sustainable is something the next generation is yearning for, as you probably did too.
With that, after decades of varied experience in the non-profit, corporate, and church world, our team has built a model that we believe can disrupt the teen mentoring industry.
And while we don't think we have the silver bullet, we do believe that we are offering a different version of mentoring that is more efficient and effective.
Court systems, educators in classrooms, college sports teams, local businesses, and so many more have all experienced and been impacted by the Purpose Project.
Currently, we are on track to reach 10,000 students in the next three years. That will make us the biggest mentoring program in the state of Texas. And all of that happens inside of a mentoring model that only takes 1 hour a week, for 6 weeks.
How, you might ask?
It's also the only thing standing in the way of the next generation of teens finding purpose and belonging.
You! Your choice of whether or not to get involved.
With our limited, part-time staff of 7 people, we have had the honor and privilege of partnering with hundreds of mentors already, and we know that with you, that's only the beginning.
So check out today’s episode and find out how you can help alter a teen’s life in just 6 hours.
After, if you’re curious and want to find out more? Go through the Purpose Project yourself or sign up to become a certified guide and mentor at www.PurposePro.Org.
We cannot wait to see how the life of a teen is going to change by your impact. And neither can they!
Episode Quotes and Highlights
-"We are on the path to reach 10,000 students in the next three years that desperately need [mentoring]." - Joe Elliott
3 Core Hurts and Needs of Teens
They do not have a connection to their identity → Who am I?
They do not have a connection to their purpose → Why am I here?
They do not have a connection to their sense of belonging → Where do I fit in?
The 3 Ps of Teen Identity
Parents
Peers
Pop Culture
-"The United States leads the world in kids growing up in single parent homes." -Joe Elliott
-"If we add up all of the largest teen mentoring organizations in the United States, and compare that to the number of teens, we are reaching about 1% of the teens in America." -Joe Elliott
-"If you don't know who you are, it's really hard to find purpose." -Joe Elliott
-"Of the 60% who go to college, only 50% of them will finish with a degree. And of the 50%, a vast majority of them will find themselves in a completely different career in 3-5 years of graduation." -Joe Elliott
-"1 in 5 teenagers are battling a mental health issue. 5400 teens a day are attempting suicide." -Joe Elliott
-"61% of young adults have expressed feeling lonely in the past year." -Joe Elliott
-"Why are there no mentors?" -Joe Elliott
3 Main Reasons People Don't Mentor
I don't have time
I'm not sure how to be a mentor
Does it even work?
-"Their entire world is online" - Joe Elliott
-"A lot can happen in 6 weeks" - Aaron Alba
-"Hurt people hurt people, but helped people help people" - Aaron Alba
-"30% of all adults who go through the Purpose Project become mentors." -Joe Elliott
-"We are going to reach 10,000 students in the next 3 years, which is gonna make us the biggest mentoring program in the state of Texas." -Joe Elliott
-"I'm the Executive Director. I made $24,000 last year!" -Joe Elliott
Links
-U.S. has world’s highest rate of children living in single-parent households - https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/12/12/u-s-children-more-likely-than-children-in-other-countries-to-live-with-just-one-parent/#:~:text=Almost%20a%20quarter%20of%20U.S.,who%20do%20so%20(7%25)
-The global pandemic has deepened an epidemic of loneliness in America. - https://mcc.gse.harvard.edu/reports/loneliness-in-america
-Experience the Purpose Project firsthand at https://askcatalyst.as.me/schedule.php?appointmentType=35870029
-Sign up to become a certified guide and mentor at www.PurposePro.Org