iMentor’s curriculum offerings are designed to support mentor-mentee pairs as they develop their relationship over email. The curriculum facilitates email communication by providing weekly writing/discussion prompts for both mentors and mentees. Using a curriculum is one of the best ways to make sure mentee and mentor relationships are progressing in their relationship. (Writing prompts are summarized below but full text can be found in iMi)

Personal

5 Things I MUST do in my lifetime

“There is so much to do and so little time to do it” is a familiar expression and generally reflects the way most of us feel. As we learn new things and discover what the world around us has to offer, our life’s “to do” list continues to grow. For example, something personal you might want to do is learn how to play the instrument. Something professional you might want to do is own your own business.

1. I must TRAVEL here:
2. I must accomplish this in my CAREER:
3. I must LEARN how to:
4. I must MEET this person:
5. I must READ this:

New Year’s Resolutions

Mentors and mentees share their New Year’s resolutions with each other. Each person shares two resolutions and discuss what they each hope to accomplish in the coming year. [Note: This prompt is intended for use after returning from the December vacation.]

Doing Something “Good” When No One Is Looking

Imagine this scenario: you are paying for your smoothie at Jamba Juice and the cashier turns around to do something else just as you put a dollar in the tip jar. She didn’t witness you doing something “good”, which in this case was putting a tip in the tip jar. When someone witnesses us doing something “good”, we often receive praise for our actions, which feels exciting. But when no one is looking or sees us when we do our good deed, we either don’t receive praise or our actions go unnoticed. When was the last time you did something “good” when no one was looking? Did you wish that your good deed was noticed?

iMentor’s curriculum offerings are designed to support mentor-mentee pairs as they develop their relationship over email. The curriculum facilitates email communication by providing weekly writing/discussion prompts for both mentors and mentees. Using a curriculum is one of the best ways to make sure mentee and mentor relationships are progressing in their relationship. (Writing prompts are summarized below but full text can be found in iMi)

High School

Note Taking 101

Mentee challenge: Go to www.lyricsmania.com and search for the lyrics to your favorite song. Once you find the lyrics, read through the entire song. As you are reading, write down three main ideas from the song and email it to your mentor. The main ideas you discuss should help your mentor understand WHAT the song is about, WHO you think the song was written for, and WHY you think people like the song. This challenge is an exercise in note taking! How strong are your note taking skills? What are your note taking strengths and what do you need to improve upon?

What’s Important to Me?

Civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. once said, “If a man hasn’t found something worth dying for, then he isn’t fit to live.” Dr. King dedicated his adult life to fighting for civil rights. He also died fighting for civil rights. While Dr. King was willing to die for what was most important to him, most people aren’t willing to do the same. Instead, many people of us live our lives knowing what’s important to us and we commit ourselves to honoring that importance. For example, if education is important to you, you might decide to become a teacher. If saving lives is important to you, you might decide to apply to medical school to become a doctor. What in your life is most important to you? Describe the importance and its impact on your life.

What I Know about College/What I Want to Know about College

Mentees list 5 facts about college that they think they know for certain and 5 questions that they would like to learn more about. Mentees have the chance to ask their mentors practical details about attending college as well as to have their mentors dispel myths about higher education. Mentors respond with personal anecdotes of their college experience, reflecting on how college was similar to and different from their high school expectations.

iMentor’s curriculum offerings are designed to support mentor-mentee pairs as they develop their relationship over email. The curriculum facilitates email communication by providing weekly writing/discussion prompts for both mentors and mentees. Using a curriculum is one of the best ways to make sure mentee and mentor relationships are progressing in their relationship. (Writing prompts are summarized below but full text can be found in iMi)

College and Career

College Dollars & Sense (follow up with SCA workshops & panels)

Financing your college education requires more than just paying your tuition: it requires that you understand how to properly manage money. As a college student, you will most likely be expected to make decisions about loans and credit as well as manage financial statements such as your tuition bills. Describe how knowledgeable you already feel about making decisions about college finances and how to manage your money. What questions do you have right for your mentor about how money works in college?

Choosing a College Major

Before you declare (officially choose) your major, you have the opportunity to explore classes in the academic subjects you might be interested in to help you decide. There is no formula for choosing a major: simply start by thinking about what your personal and academic interests are and how you think they can translate into a major.  What are your academic and personal interests? Tell your mentor which college majors would match your current interests.

From High School Teacher to the College Professor

Forming relationships with your college professors is important. According to the College Board, these relationships are critical in “enriching your overall college experience”. If you currently have good relationships with your high school teachers, establishing strong relationships with your college professors may be easy. On the other hand, relationships with your college professors may be challenging if it has been difficult to form strong relationships with your high school teachers.

Describe your expectations for your relationships with your college professors. How will those relationships be similar to or different from the relationships you currently have with your high school teachers?

Networking 101

How comfortable would you feel at a career fair introducing yourself with a firm handshake and talking about yourself to potential employers? How about telling a job representative what your personal strengths are? What about following up with a potential employer after meeting her and expressing interest in applying for the job? These are all examples of networking skills. In every area of your life – personal, academic, or professional – networking is critical. Networking requires that you are able to communicate well with people, which includes the ability to hold a conversation, make good eye contact, give a firm handshake and know how to ask for what you want. Tell your mentor three of your strongest networking skills. Where do you need to improve?

The Best Interview Ever

How would you respond if you were asked the following in a job interview: “Why should this company hire you?” What would you say if during a job interview a future employer asked you to give yourself a grade for the effort you make when working in a group? What would you talk about if you were asked to discuss a current political issue during an interview? Sometimes questions in job interviews go beyond the topic of the actual job, and you are asked to talk about yourself or your beliefs in ways that are unexpected. Feeling prepared and confident for any question can really help you do well during an interview! What are three ways you can prepare to have a successful job interview? How will you prepare to answer unexpected questions such as why you should be hired, how you contribute to team projects, or what current political issue is important to you?

Chase Community Giving is leveraging the power of social media to donate $5MM to various charities this winter. Facebook users worldwide are voting for nonprofits that they believe in, and charities with the most votes will win between $25K and $1MM!

It is incredibly easy to vote and will definitely make an impact.

Click below to vote for iMentor and your favorite organizations!

Chase Community Giving Contest on Facebook

Pelo terceiro ano consecutivo, a câmara Municipal de Paços de Ferreira volta a baixar o IMI, o Imposto Municipal sobre Imóveis, tornando-se assim o município com a segunda mais baixa taxa do distrito do Porto.

A proposta de baixar o imposto de 0,39% para 0,35% para prédios urbanos avaliados em termos de códigos de IMI, e de 0,68% para 0,65% para prédios urbanos avaliados segundo a legislação anterior a 2004 foi apresentada na última reunião de câmara e deverá ser apreciada e votada nos próximos dias pela Assembleia Municipal.

Em nota enviada à comunicação social, a autarquia refere que a proposta de redução do IMI, apresentada pelo presidente Pedro Pinto, está sustentada em diversos factores como o crescimento lento da economia e os problemas sócio-económicos das famílias do concelho. O Presidente do Município considera ainda que a redução deste imposto, conjugada com outras medidas fiscais propostas pelo Município, ajudará a criar condições para que as famílias do concelho não sejam afectadas de uma forma tão intensa pela crise económica.

No que diz respeito à derrama, a câmara de Paços de Ferreira aprovou, na passada sexta-feira, uma proposta que vai no sentido das empresas pagarem a Derrama, de acordo com os lucros que obtiverem: 1,5% do lucro tributável para empresas com Volume de Negócios superior a 150 mul euros e 0,5% do lucro tributável para empresas com Volume de Negócios igual ou inferior a 150 mil euros. A Derrama não terá qualquer repercussão nas empresas que apresentam prejuízos, que são as que se encontram em maiores dificuldades.

Assim, o imposto, que permite aos municípios um reforço da sua capacidade financeira, não vai representar uma fatia muito significativa em termos de receitas para a Câmara Municipal, por opção do Município, atendendo à situação da economia portuguesa e mundial e ao facto do tecido empresarial do concelho ser constituído maioritariamente por PME’s (Pequenas e Médias Empresas) e micro empresas, demasiado dependentes das oscilações do mercado interno.

Free Range Studios is offering $15,000 in pro bono design/strategic communications services, which iMentor would use to help recruit more male mentors. Over 400 organizations have applied.  For the first round of the competition, users vote for grant applicants online.  Free Range will give the grant to one of the organizations with the most votes.

If you have a moment, please click on this link to vote for iMentor:

http://youtopia.uservoice.com/pages/33758-education/suggestions/386499-imentor-new-york-city?ref=title

iMentor Interactive (iMi) provides organizations with the unique opportunity to maintain and track relationships within peer-to-peer and alumni networks.  Having launched in the fall of 2007, we are now providing our member organizations with this innovative and cost-effective technology, which instantly is providing participants and staff with all the tools and expertise necessary to run quality programs. The programs can be run locally, nationally, and even internationally.

iMentor Interactive’s current success is largely due by using technology to overcome the following challenges:

1)       Difficulty In Recruiting Mentors

2)       Laborious Matching Process

3)       Keeping pairs engaged

4)       Measuring impact

If you are an organization/company currently thinking about adding/enhancing a current mentoring program, then we invite you for a public, online demo:

1)       Wednesday, November 18th at 3pm: https://cc.readytalk.com/r/aevob1zqi44b

2)       Wednesday, December 2^nd at 3pm: https://cc.readytalk.com/r/42pbdnx4crgl

3)       Wednesday, December 16^th at 3pm: Please email Maggie@imentor.org for more details

First Step: On the day of the Demo, please dial in at 866.740.1260 and please include access code: 4614330

Second Step: After dialing in, please click on the link of the appropriate date of demo. The link will take you directly to readytalk.com for online demo.

We are very excited to hear from you at one of our demo! Please let me know should you have any questions or concerns.

Best,

Jonathan

iMentor Interactive Partnership Manager

(Jonathan@imentor.org; 212-461-4330 ext.39)

Our members are producing some great results with their          mentoring programs around the county. In the Best of the Best Practices column we will highlight one of our members that have solved some of the most difficult challenges associated with running a mentoring program.

SHIELD Mentor Program in Greensboro, North Carolina has a great practice for recruiting their mentors. Precious McKoy, the Executive Director of SHIELD Mentor Program, and her team have created a relationship with the University of North Carolina Greensboro’s Office of Leadership and Service Learning. Since posting their call for mentors on the University’s website, they have received numerous mentor applications! Congratulations to Precious and her team at SHIELD for kicking off their program and finding a great way to recruit mentors.

UNCG Service Opportunities

It is common knowledge that more than 250,000 students vie to get into the prestigious Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) every year. With a conversion rate of around 1%, the IIMs boast of being one of the toughest management institutes to get admission into. This supposedly guarantees recruiters of finding the best brains of the country here.

Sadly for the students and alumni of IIMs, in the coming years the IIM brand is going to come under question more than ever. The class of 2012 of the flagship PGDM programs at IIMs will see the third and final phase of implementation of the Mandal Commission’s recommendations by the government. This will take the proportion of reserved seats to a staggering 49.5%.

This of course means that the classroom has students of vastly different intellectual capabilities. Let’s take the CAT percentile as an indicator of a student’s ability. Historically, IIM students typically had high percentiles between 97 and 100 – meaning they scored better than 97% of test takers. However, now it is not uncommon for students scoring as low as 60 to 80 percentile to be part of this classroom. As can be seen in actual classrooms and by the industry as well, all IIM grads are not the brightest managers in the country today.

During placements, recruiters have already started making requests for the reservation status of the candidates, which of course are politely turned down. If we think from any recruiter’s point of view, there is tremendous competition among firms to bag the best candidates out of the lot. Recruiting MBAs is a high stakes game for most companies, given the salaries they pay to get the best talent in India. Practically speaking, it is natural for them to try and find out the quota status of an applicant or if nothing else, the CAT score and CGPA. Hell, I would try and do it if I were in their place. Ultimately, companies will tire out from not being assured of quality students and would increase their intake from institutes without quota implementation, if not giving a complete thumbs down to IIM campuses.

ISB has already demonstrated what an institute with autonomy in policy making and industry support can accomplish – it stood 15th globally in the latest Financial Times rankings, far ahead of any other Indian B-schools. Without autonomy in policy making including faculty salaries decisions, I foresee that in the coming years private institutions like MDI, IMI, XLRI, SP Jain etc would steadily gain ground and surpass the IIMs in parameters like the quality of students, faculty, placements and overall brand equity.

12h04 – Essa Casa Tem História – Couto Pereira

– Sabe Como? – Carteira de Trabalho

– PR399 – Rio Negro

– Aqui é Assim – Patrimônio

– O Dono da Rua – Marechais

– Tá na Lei – Crimes na Internet

– Tempero da Terra – Pintado na Telha

– Sabe Como? – Farmácia Popular

– Onde Você Estava? – Homem na Lua

– O Dono da Rua – Rocha Pombo

13h05 – Resumo da Semana

13h30 – Mundo da Fotografia – Marcos Piffer: Paisagem do Mar

14h00 – Ciranda Cultural – Revista Joaquim

14h40 – Mundo da Alimentação – Churrasco à Gaúcha

15h05 – Mundo da Arte – O Artesão de Ilusões: Wesley Duke Lee

15h30 – Plano Geral – Bolsa Família

16h35 – Memória Política – Evandro Lins e Silva

17h35 – Reprise Resumo da Semana

18h00 – Essa Casa Tem História – Couto Pereira

– Sabe Como? – Carteira de Trabalho

– PR399 – Rio Negro

– Aqui é Assim – Patrimônio

– O Dono da Rua – Marechais

– Tá na Lei – Crimes na Internet

– Tempero da Terra – Pintado na Telha

– Sabe Como? – Farmácia Popular

– Onde Você Estava? – Homem na Lua

– O Dono da Rua – Rocha Pombo

19h00 – Ciranda Cultural – Revista Joaquim

19h40 – Essa Casa Tem História – Instituto de Educação

– Serviços Públicos – Defesa Civil

20h00 – Reprise Resumo da Semana

20h25 – Memória Política – Evandro Lins e Silva

21h30 – Plano Geral – Bolsa Família

22h30 – Onde Você Estava? – IMI 70

–Aqui é Assim – Pianista

– Essa Casa Tem História – Hotel Cataratas

23h05 – Assembleia em Debate – ONGs

– Perfil Parlamentar – Antônio Anibelli, Fernando Scanavaca, Antonio Belinati, Luciana Rafagnin

By Oscar the Grouch

Forty years ago yesterday was the debut of a little educational program, Sesame Street. After watching numerous episodes with my friends and family it has occurred to me that, at times, I was off-putting to so many people that came and visited me in my trashcan. With the help of a mentor, I believe I could have acquired the following skills:

Anger Management: Many times throughout the show I have lost my temper and raised my voice to my dear friends. Big Bird and Smiley did not deserve my rants and raves. If I had someone to help me break down my problems and issues then I think I could have appropriately responded to situations I found difficult.

Healthy Choices/Good Hygiene: No surprise here! If I had a mentor to help me better understand how trash and filth could affect the body then I wouldn’t have spent all those years in my can eating rotten and unhealthy foods.

Positive Outlook: In almost every episode my first reaction to a situation was negative and pessimistic. With the support of adult advisers, perhaps I could have seen how supportive, kind and understanding all my friends were of my moods and negative attitude.

Appreciation: With the support of a mentor, I could have understood the irony of Billy Joel and Marlee Matlin singing “Just the Way You Are” in this clip:

Some may say that I would not be Oscar the Grouch if I had attained all these skills but I think that, with the help of a mentor, I could have still found the balance between being appreciative, positive and healthy – and being Oscar.

You read that right! The U.S. Department of Education is sponsoring a new program to help community colleges mentor each other when it comes to successful student retention techniques – including mentoring. And it turns out that our very own Miami Dade College, which uses mentoring to connect biotechnology students with professionals in the field, is one of the colleges selected.

Read the whole story here.

Congratulations to Excel Academy in East Boston for ranking first in the state in English and fourth in the state in math for improving student performance over time. This is an amazing accomplishment! Read below to hear more about Excel and the new process in Massachusetts for determining student improvement.

Chelsea Record Excel Article

A Câmara de Amarante já decidiu fixar a taxa do IMI (Imposto Municipal sobre Imóveis) no valor mínimo – 0,2% – para prédios urbanos avaliados pelo novo CIMI e 0,7% para os restantes. Em 2010, a autarquia não vai mexer nos valores praticados este ano, como o objectivo de “minorar o impacto nas famílias dos custos crescentes com a habitação”, justificou o edil Armindo Abreu.

Em nota enviada à imprensa, o autarca acrescenta que face ao contexto actual de crise económica, os impostos municipais, designadamente o IMI, devem ser “encarados como instrumentos de política económica e social e não mero factor de arrecadação de receita camarária”.

A proposta foi aprovada por unanimidade na sua primeira reunião do executivo, seguindo agora para aprovação da Assembleia Municipal.

IIC was in New Jersey this past weekend hosting a series of important meetings and events, with some exciting results!

Firstly, members of IIC’s Executive Committee, including Rahat Husain, Farwah Zaidi, Azmat Husain, Mubeen Khan, Saman Naquvi, Mehdi Husain, and Hajar Hosseini met with the leadership of the internationally acclaimed, UN recognized, organization Imamia Medics International.

Imamia Medics International (IMI) is a professional, not for profit organization of Physicians, Pharmacists, Nurses, Scientists and other healthcare professionals. The membership to this organization is not limited to medical personnel; it also includes people from other walks of life who are working to uplift the medical, social, intellectual and spiritual wellbeing of our communities.

The meeting was very productive, and resulted in exciting discussions regarding next year’s American Leadership Initiative for Muslims Conference, now scheduled to take place on Columbus Day Weekend in 2010. The meeting centered around an opportunity to combine resources for the sake of each organization’s respective convention, and create something that the greater Muslim community would benefit from.  Of course, each organization will remain fully independent and separate, but a convention of this magnitude is something quite a few people will be excited about.

What would you like to see from next years IMI and IIC conventions? Comment below!

Informationsstelle Militarisierung IMI/e.V.

Der Krieg in Afghanistan eskaliert weiter. Ein Grund hierfür liegt im immer aggressiveren Vorgehen der NATO, aber auch der Europäischen Union und Deutschlands. Spätestens Ende November oder Anfang Dezember wird die Debatte um die Verlängerung und Vergrößerung des Bundeswehrengagements beginnen. Um die Kritik an dem Einsatz mit Informationen zu unterlegen, hat die IMI in Zusammenarbeit mit der EU-Abgeordneten Sabine Lösing eine Broschüre zum Thema erarbeitet, die sich ausführlich mit den
verschiedenen Facetten des Krieges beschäftigt:

“Im Windschatten der NATO: Die Europäische Union und der Krieg in
Afghanistan”
Die Broschüre kann hier heruntergeladen werden:
http://imi-online.de/download/Afghanistanbroschuere-Web.pdf
Die Kooperation ermöglicht es uns außerdem auch, die Broschüre kostenlos
- gerne auch in größeren Stückzahlen – zu versenden.

Bestellungen bitte an: sabine.loesing@europarl.europa.eu

Ein kleiner Teil der Broschüre wurde auch als Artikel in der Jungen Welt
veröffentlicht:

IMI-Analyse 2009/043 – in: Junge Welt, 23.10.2009
Gewalt in Permanenz
Die EU und die »Afghanisierung« des Krieges

http://www.imi-online.de/2009.php?id=2034

23.10.2009, Sabine Lösing / Jürgen Wagner

Look out Boston! The iMentor Interactive team will be presenting in conjunction with our amazing partner, Excel Academy, at the Providers’ Council Convention on Thursday, October 29. If you’re going to be there, look for our session at the Marriott Copley at 2:30, “Weaving Technology into Youth Mentoring Programs.” And if you can’t make it to the session but want to meet us in-person, drop us a line at imi@imentor.org.

See you in Beantown!

Our members are producing some great results with their mentoring programs around the county. In the Best of the Best Practices column we will highlight one of our members that have solved some of the most difficult challenges associated with running a mentoring program.

GEAR UP Wyandanch, part of the Mentoring Partnership of Long Island, is using this recruitment flier to increase their number of mentors. By specifically calling for e-Mentors the organization is already targeting a different volunteer base. If you are interested in being a mentor for GEAR UP Wyandanch please contact Frank Pomata, Asst. Director GEAR UP 516-570-6645 or Beacon006@aol.com.  Congratulations to GEAR UP for launching their program!

For more information please go to: http://www.dowling.edu/GearUp/

Download flier in PDF format.

O Krav Magá foi criado na década de 1940 para capacitar os grupos de defesa que lutaram pela independência do Estado de Israel. Quando Imi Lichtenfeld chegou à Palestina antes do estabelecimento do estado de Israel, começou a ensinar combate corpo a corpo aos Haganá (exército rebelde judaico). Depois do estabelecimento de Israel, o Krav Magá foi adotado pelas forças armadas israelenses e pela polícia como a sua luta de escolha. Luta essa que chegou à sua forma atual em Israel pouco depois da sua formação.

Depois de Imi se retirar da sua longa carreira como chefe instrutor das Forças de Defesa israelenses, ele começou a ensinar Krav Magá à população civil. No início era restrito apenas à elite militar, mas a partir de 1964 foi liberado o ensino aos militares em geral e à população civil dentro do Estado de Israel.

Imi Lichtenfeld

Foi neste momento que seu criador, com a preocupação de dar continuidade à sua obra transmitindo-a para o resto do mundo e para as próximas gerações, selecionou um pequeno grupo que seria treinado e preparado para este fim, do qual o Mestre Kobi é parte integrante. Em 1987, foi liberada a saída do Krav Maga para fora de Israel.

Vários países como EUA, Inglaterra e França solicitaram cursos que obtiveram grande sucesso e aceitação. Em 1990, o primeiro faixa preta saiu de Israel para difundir o Krav Maga; Mestre Kobi chega ao Brasil, como o único representante da arte na América do Sul.

Kobi Lichtenstein

O ensino do Krav Maga está dividido em duas partes:

A primeira que vai da faixa branca à faixa azul, onde se aprende as técnicas de defesa pessoal;

E a segunda, que vai da faixa azul à faixa preta, onde se aprende as técnicas de combate corpo-a-corpo, técnicas de combate militar e exercícios mais complexos. A seguir, uma breve descrição de cada faixa.

Com a experiência onde a técnica superou todas as dificuldades contra inimigos com superioridade numérica e bélica, Israel alcançou notoriedade na área de segurança e vários países requisitaram treinamento. Hoje, as principais forças de segurança no mundo já adotaram a Filosofia do Krav Maga. Tais como:

Krav Maga

Comando de Operações Táticas/Polícia Federal (Brasil)

FBI (EUA)

Corpo de Fuzileiros Navais dos Estados Unidos (EUA)

CIA (EUA)

Guarda Costeira dos Estados Unidos da América (EUA)

SWAT (EUA)

GIGN (França)

BOPE – Batalhão de Operações Especiais/Polícia Militar do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (Brasil)

Marinha do Brasil (Brasil)

Para maiores informações visite o site da Federação Sul Americana de Krav Maga.