Mentoring at WE CAN
Women
helping women is at the heart of WE CAN. PathMakers, WE CAN's signature
program, spans ten months and offers mentoring for women with a focus
on setting and achieving goals, as well as mutual learning and support.
Women seeking mentoring, who we call PathMakers, are paired with mentoring
"Partners" via a speed dating-like process. This process allows PathMakers
an opportunity to meet and talk with a number of potential Partners and
rank them in order of preference.
The mentoring Partners are volunteers who have a broad array of life experiences as well as knowledge, skills and a strong desire to support PathMakers on their journey of transition. Each PathMaker/Partner pair meets individually and the entire PathMaker group comes together monthly for workshops. These monthly workshops cover topics such as visioning, goal setting, leadership development, stress reduction, conflict resolution and other topics of interest to the group.
In addition to the one-to-one meetings and monthly group sessions, there are periodic sessions for the mentoring Partners to allow them to share experiences with each other and to help them succeed as mentors, which for many may be a new role.
These are examples of what recent Pathmaker graduates have accomplished: published books, returned to school, begun new jobs, started businesses, launched careers or new careers, bought homes, and acquired funding for major renovations. Many also join the program for added support as they travel through a difficult transition in life such as a serious illness, personal loss or a divorce.
We also offer short-term 1:1 mentoring around the issues of work and finances. These are private, confidential sessions with a volunteer who has experience and expertise in one of these areas. These work support and financial sessions are conducted by appointment and give women an opportunity to meet with an "expert" to gain helpful information, knowledge and assistance in work and career related matters such as exploring career possibilities, resume preparation, coaching for job interviews, or in financial matters ranging from basic finance for everyday life to planning for the future. Our volunteers are women who currently work in or are retired from these fields and who generously give of their time and experience at no charge.
