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<div style="direction: ltr;font-family: Tahoma;color: #000000;font-size: 10pt;">Hello postdocs,
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<div>Hope you enjoyed this fantastic weekend! Due to a positive response to our email announcing this initiative, we have coordinated an info session at MIT with the Ambassador of the East End House who coordinates the Mentoring Program (<b>Wednesday May 6
from 5:30 - 6:00 pm in E25-202</b>). The mentoring ambassador will give an intro presentation about the mentoring and/or tutoring opportunities at East End House. The postdocs will then have an opportunity to ask questions and meet other postdocs interested
in participating. We will provide some food/beverages so<span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> <b>PLEASE CONFIRM
</b></span><b><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">VIA EMAIL TO pagarcia@mit.edu</span></b><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 10pt;">if you will be attending so that we can order to right amount. Some
<font color="#ff0000">additional information is also included in red below</font> in case you are interested in the mentoring program but cannot attend the info session this wednesday (</span><font face="Tahoma" style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Segoe UI', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.eastendhouse.org/" target="_blank" style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'Segoe UI', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">http://www.eastendhouse.org/</a></font><span style="font-size: 10pt;">).</span></div>
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<div>Looking forward to seeing many of you there,</div>
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<div>All the best,</div>
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<div>Community Building Committee Co-Chairs: <span style="font-size: 10pt;">Virginia & Paulo</span></div>
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<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;"><font size="2" color="red">1) What are the exact roles of the mentoring program?</font></div>
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<div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;"><font size="2">As far as the role of the mentor goes, we're looking for someone who is reliable, available for at least a year, is able to attend most of the Thursday meetings, is interested in connecting with and
supporting middle and high school aged youth, and can persist through a bit of initial awkwardness at the start of the match. That's about it! There are no financial expectations placed upon the mentor and no perfect mentor candidate. All of the activities
will be planned by the program coordinator and paid for by East End House. Past activities have included arts and crafts, trips to sporting events and cultural venues, family nights, STE(A)M programming, college trips, and the occasional mentor job site visit.
Mentors need to show up and be engaged, we take care of everything else!</font></div>
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<div><font size="2" color="red">2) Should we request a minimum of 6 or 12 months commitment to the program in order to have some continuity?</font></div>
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<div style="background-color: white; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;"><font size="2">Thank you for reaching out to me with your questions and for starting the conversation with your cohort! Our minimum match requirement is 1 year; studies show that matches
lasting shorter than 12 months can be detrimental for the well-being and self-esteem of the mentee. We accept new mentees throughout the year, so the postdocs are welcome to apply to join the program at any time provided that they are prepared to make that 1
year commitment. </font></div>
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<div style="background-color: white; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;"><font size="2" color="red">3) Can postdocs sign up whenever during the year or would you prefer all of them at once?</font></div>
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<div style="background-color: white; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;"><font size="2">We welcome folks to apply together or individually and have no real preference for either style. We emphasize good fit for mentors and mentees, so there's no fixed application-to-match
timeline. It's really about the personality and availability of the mentor. Anecdotal evidence shows that some mentors like to apply in groups so that they can support each other through the process of getting to know their mentees, adjusting to being a mentor,
and reminding each other about upcoming match events. </font></div>
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<div style="background-color: white; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;"><font size="2" color="red">4) Is the commitment/activities only for the 2nd and 4th Thursdays of the months or is this flexible and could be 1st and 3rd Mondays for example... Or potentially
vary week to week?</font></div>
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<div style="background-color: white; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;"><font size="2">As of right now we only meet on the 2nd and 4th Thursday of every month, but I'm in the process of getting approval for off-site match meetings. This would allow for
matches to schedule independent meetings in the Greater Boston area, score some extra meeting time, and better meet the scheduling needs of everyone involved. I'll keep you updated on these efforts as details become available. </font><font size="2"><br>
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<div style="background-color: white; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;"><font size="2" color="red">5) There are postdocs that have contract uncertainties and they would like to start asap... However, the funding in our positions is not guaranteed and they
might have to stop by Jan 2016... That is an unknown though so what should we advice?</font></div>
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<div style="background-color: white; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;"><font size="2">I understand the uncertainties surrounding funding and contracts and want to be sensitive to the interests of the postdocs, while also being realistic. It takes a while
to get from the application phase to the match phase and there is generally a bit of a drop off in mentee attendance during summer vacation. Given the uncertainty of the timeline and of summer attendance, </font><font size="2"><b>it might be best for the January
2016 cohort to engage with our youth in a different way. Perhaps they could tutor some of our middle school youth or come in to teach a short class to the mentoring group.</b></font><font size="2"> Let's discuss some creative ways to get everyone involved!</font></div>
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<div id="divRpF776709" style="direction: ltr;"><font face="Tahoma" size="2" color="#000000"><b>From:</b> Paulo Garcia<br>
<b>Sent:</b> Wednesday, April 29, 2015 7:14 PM<br>
<b>To:</b> mit-postdocs@mit.edu<br>
<b>Cc:</b> Dana Bresee Keeth<br>
<b>Subject:</b> Mentoring Opportunity for Postdocs at East End House!<br>
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<div style="font-family:'Segoe UI',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:10pt">Hi Postdocs,</span></div>
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<div style="font-family:'Segoe UI',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">Mentoring is a great way to make a difference in the life of a child or teen. Caring, reliable mentors can help young people acquire the developmental assets they will need in college, in a career,
and beyond.</div>
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<div style="font-family:'Segoe UI',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">The MIT PDA would like to invite you to join us in mentoring a child or teen at the East End House in Cambridge, MA. This is a great opportunity to make a difference in the lives of others that
are less fortunate than us.</div>
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<div style="font-family:'Segoe UI',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif"><b>Who: MIT Postdocs</b></div>
<div style="font-family:'Segoe UI',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif"><b>What: Mentoring a child or teen</b></div>
<div style="font-family:'Segoe UI',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif"><b>Where: East End House, 105 Spring Street, Cambridge, MA 02141 </b></div>
<div style="font-family:'Segoe UI',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif"><b>When: 2nd & 4th Thursdays each month, 6-8 pm (minimum commitment = 1 year)</b></div>
<div style="font-family:'Segoe UI',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif"><b>Why: Making a difference in people's lives </b></div>
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<div style="font-family:'Segoe UI',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">Mentees are matched one-on-one with mentors for a year or more. Meetings include dinner, free time, structured group activities, and occasional field trips to local sports games, mentor work sites,
and other locations of interest. The East End House is also piloting a High School Mentoring Program with a more community based curriculum and are looking for a couple of mentors to work with the graduates of the Middle School Mentoring Program. </div>
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<div style="font-family:'Segoe UI',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">If you are interested in this outreach opportunity, please email the MIT PDA Community Building Committee’s Co-Chair, Paulo Garcia (<a href="mailto:pagarcia@mit.edu" target="_blank">pagarcia@mit.edu</a>),
for more information. <a href="http://www.eastendhouse.org/" style="font-family:Tahoma; font-size:10pt" target="_blank">http://www.eastendhouse.org/</a></div>
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<div style="font-family:'Segoe UI',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">All the best,</div>
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<div style="font-family:'Segoe UI',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif">Paulo</div>
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