What’s New
The Mentoring Plus Strategy and Healthy Pictou County Partner to support mentoring the next generation of healthcare workers
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- Published: Monday, 31 May 2021 15:36
New Glasgow, NS - A new partnership is forging together in Pictou County to support prospective and current students looking for support and guidance through their journey in the healthcare field.
The Mentoring Plus Strategy, which uses an intergenerational approach to connect knowledgeable retirees with individuals in need of mentorship, has partnered with Healthy Pictou County, a physician-led community effort supporting the attraction and retention of healthcare providers and students in our community.
The partnership provides those from Pictou County considering or currently in any area of healthcare with the introduction to a knowledgeable retiree in our community, who is willing to offer guidance, mentorship and advice.
North Nova Education Centre Students Get Taste of Trades and Mentorship
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- Published: Thursday, 29 April 2021 13:32
NEW GLASGOW – A group of students from North Nova Education Centre got a small taste of mentorship Thursday night when they talked with mentors from The Mentoring Plus Strategy about career opportunities in the skilled trades. Ten local volunteer mentors with extensive experience in the trades including carpentry, culinary arts, plumbing, power engineering, electrical, welding, machining and mechanics met with students and parents to talk about the realities of a career in their specific field.
“I thought the evening was really fun. It was great, they could tell me the ups and downs of the trade and what to focus on if I decide to pursue that trade,” said Seth Prindiville, a grade 10 student who is part of NNEC’s career exploration. Prindiville knows he definitely wants to pursue culinary arts after talking with mentor Chef Alain Bossé who is known as “The Kilted Chef.” “The Kilted Chef told me about a book to help me develop my palette.” The Kilted Chef said one of the things about the event was the chance to connect with the students and share stories. “You don’t get where we are today without amazing passionate stories,” said Bossé. “None of us would be here if we didn’t care.”
The Mentoring Plus Strategy Recognizes Black Community Engagement Is Crucial
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- Published: Thursday, 11 March 2021 16:49
TRURO - While the Town of Truro’s Mayor Bill Mills recently proclaimed African Heritage Month, he also stressed the importance of recognizing the significant contributions African Nova Scotians bring to our community every day of the year. The Mentoring Plus Strategy recognizes this too and saw fit to appoint a local woman to steward the connection between the black community’s seniors with people in our community who could benefit from their breadth of work and life experience. Tracy Dorrington-Skinner joined the Mentoring Plus Strategy’s team in December 2020 as the Community Engagement Facilitator and is already meeting with local seniors to share the mission of the project in the hopes of bringing them on board.
One of those seniors is Glenda Talbot-Richards and Dorrington-Skinner met with her Thursday to introduce her to the Mentoring Plus Strategy which sees seniors and retirees as a largely untapped resource and seeks to connect them with people in need of guidance and mentorship in their community. Talbot-Richards immediately saw the benefit of mentorship saying, “People don’t grow or develop unless they have someone in their corner rooting for them.” Talbot-Richards was intrigued, saying, “When I look throughout the community, I see people have so much to offer. I think education is important, not only formal education but also informal.” Talbot-Richards is one of about 40 people that Dorrington-Skinner is visiting with locally to share the mission of the project and she believes having someone who knows the community well in the facilitator’s role will have an impact on the project’s success. She said a lot of people don’t really realize how much they have to offer as a mentor. “It’s important to value their experience and say we want who you have, regardless of what it is; that’s how you build trust in our communities.”
Pictou County Entrepreneur First To Benefit From Mentoring Plus Strategy
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- Published: Thursday, 11 March 2021 15:03
NEW GLASGOW – A young entrepreneur in Nova Scotia’s Pictou County isn’t the first person to hear the phrase “listen to your elders” but she is the first in the Province to see the benefit of it through a business person to business person mentorship pilot program that is already helping her enterprise succeed.
Teri-Lynn Dempsey was selected to be the test subject for the Mentoring Plus Strategy pilot that paired her with Valerie Ryan, a semi-retired businesswoman who has nearly 3 decades of leadership experience with the Empire Group of companies. Dempsey jumped at the chance to benefit from Ryan’s knowledge because as an entrepreneur she had new challenges including time management, coping with stress, and understanding how to be an effective employer. Ryan agreed to become Dempsey’s mentor because she says throughout her career she had mentors who helped her develop specific skills and overall business acumen.