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Mentor Program

About the Program

Did you know that a handful of hours spent just hanging out with a grieving child can transform their life?  

Our program provides children, teens, and young adults with a rare and coveted opportunity to be paired with carefully selected and highly trained Mentors who know what losing a parent feels like. 

This isn’t therapy – rather it’s a relationship that helps children learn from someone ahead of them on their journey – something the science tells us is critical for healthy, constructive processing of the grief. 

Mentors and Mentees hang out a few hours a month doing normal, everyday activities. We are also piloting a new “Hybrid” Mentor Program that requires meeting only a few times per year – let us know if you are interested. 

Our Mentors are not a replacement for a lost parent. They listen, relate to a child’s loss, and provide support. Enrollment is simple + free.  Children under age 14 must be enrolled by an adult, while children and young adults ages 14 – 24 may enroll themselves.

Mentors

We’re excited that you want to join our community. Click below to begin the process!

Become a Mentor

Mentees

We’re excited that you’re interested in our program. Click below to begin the process! 

Become a Mentee

How it works

Apply

You must be 25 years old and have experienced the death of a parent (at any age). Our program is currently offered in 5 anchor locations around the country: Southern New England, New York Metropolitan Area and Long Island, Denver, CO (includes Boulder), Washington DC metro area, Los Angeles + North County, San Diego

If you live in one of those areas and are interested in becoming a Mentor? Apply here.

 

Meet With Us

You’ll receive a follow-up email, set a time to talk with us – this is an important get-to-know-you conversation where we learn more about you, and you learn more about what it means to be a Mentor. We encourage anyone who is thinking about being a Mentor to have this conversation.

Get Vetted

We’re very careful about who we put with grieving children and adhere to all ethical and legal compliance standards.

Training

We conduct a clear and helpful training so you will feel prepared once you start Mentoring. We’re also always available for guidance and ongoing support through the course of your match. 

Once you complete the application and training, it could take time before you are officially matched – but believe us, it’s worth it!

UPCOMING MENTOR TRAININGS

Our next Mentor Training will take place virtually via Zoom on the following dates:

Tuesday, January 14th at 3:30 PM PT / 4:30 PM MT / 5:30 PM CT / 6:30 PM ET
Tuesday, March 18th at 3:30 PM PT / 4:30 PM MT / 5:30 PM CT / 6:30 PM ET

Building Our Programs

We’re currently building our Mentor program in Southeastern Florida, North Carolina (Charlotte, Fayetteville, and Raleigh) and the city of Chicago and its Western Suburbs. This process may take some time, so applicants should not expect to be matched right away. However, we encourage you to apply, as our vetting and training process is thorough and may take some time. We will make matches as they become available while we continue to build the program. 

If you live outside of these regions, we do make matches from time-to-time, so please consider joining our Waiting List. 

In the meantime, these communities are actively hosting fun events to provide children relief from their grief. Learn more.

Safety and Well-being

At Empower, the safety and well-being of each child is our top priority. Our mentor program partners with Mass Mentor Partnerships (MMP) and follows best practices in screening, training, and monitoring guidelines for each prospective Mentor.

Connect

Sometimes all you need is to know that you aren’t alone. Empower brings together an inspiring community built on shared experience and connection.

Support

The tremendous weight of grief can be a little lighter with someone to share it with — the entire Empower network is here to support children of parent loss.

Empower

Our mentors and events help children of parent loss regain their confidence and sense of self, providing tangible proof that loss can be survivable.