ARCHIVES

• One Hundred Big Ones is the name of a new paper that lists the Top One Hundred Questions used to strengthen mentor relationships. This paper, which describes the concept of powerful questions and how they can aid mentoring programs, has been added to the Documents Section and is available to members of the Peer Resources Network only.

• Agreement Forms play a significant role in mentoring programs. What goes in such a document and why is it worthwhile to include a formal agreement between a mentor and a partner? A new mentor program learning document about such agreements has been added to the Documents Section and is available to members of the Peer Resources Network only.

• Rey Carr traveled to Montreal in March, 2001 to facilitate the development of peer programs for a number of people involved in post-secondary peer work and community-based peer programs.

• Our Coaching Pages have been re-designed for easier navigation and increased useability. Included in the new design is a section where Peer Resources Network members can receive a discount on the newest book on coaching, The Complete Guide to Coaching at Work. The book is also available to non-members at the normal retail price.

• One of the premier events in the coaching world is the annual conference of the International Coach Federation (ICF). We have prepared a Comprehensive Report about the ICF Conference which took place in October, 2000. The report summarizes the main points of all keynote speakers, identifies the coaching trends and issues which emerged during the conference, and provides links and references to various materials and resources recommended by conference speakers. An additional section of the report enables readers to leave their own comments thus enriching the fullness of the report.

• In Memory of Pierre Elliott Trudeau

  

• Rey Carr travels to Saint John, New Brunswick to conduct a two-day Peer Training Workshop for teachers and counsellors throughout the province involved in peer assistance (October 16-17) and to provide a community lecture on the use of peer interventions in health promotion (October 18, 2000)

• The 5th Annual Conference of the International Coach Federation takes place in Vancouver, British Columbia, October 26-28, 2000. Come and visit Rey Carr at the conference and the rest of the coaches.

• Check out the new question in our contest and be eligible to win a Mentor Pin and a Grant Geissman CD.

• What do Margaret Thatcher, Tina Turner, and Jonathan Winters all have in common? If you said they are mentors, then you have probably visited our famous mentor pairings.

• To find the best (and newest) books on coaching, mentoring, or peer assistance at the lowest prices, save time by using our Top Books pages.

• Wondering which coaching school will suit your learning needs and career goals? Visit our informative Coaching Resources section which provides details about all coach training opportunities as well as current workshops and conferences.

• Our latest schedule of training events has been posted. Register online. If what we offer doesn't suit you, then take a look at other coaching events or other mentoring events sponsored by a variety of sources. We keep these lists current so you will likely find a date, place or topic that is worthwhile.

• TWO new feature has been added to the mentor pages: a list of famous mentor pairs, and a series of first-person stories about the value of mentoring.

• THREE additional schools have been added to theCoaching Schools and Training Organizations page the page has been revised to make the listings easier to read and find valuable information.

• Persons who wish to preview the new issue of Compass: A Magazine for Peer Assistance, Mentorship and Coaching can take a look at the Table of Contents and complete a brief survey to receive a complimentary copy.

• A new contest question has been added to the Mentor Pages. Each question period, a response is selected to win a Mentor Lapel Pin. The question for this period is about describing a mentor.

• A search engine has been added to this site in order to assist visitors in finding the type of information they are seeking.

• SIX books have been added to the Top Books in Peer Helping list, ELEVEN new books have been added to the Top Books in Mentoring list, and FIVE new books have been added to the Top Books in Coaching List.

• Revisions have been made to the Mentor Programs List making the system easier to use and adding a search tool to look for particular types of programs.

• FIVE new resources, including videos on peer helping and the famous Energizers and Icebreakers book can now be ordered from the newly revised Peer Resources Bookstore.

• NINETY-SEVEN new descriptions of mentor programs and additional online papers about mentoring, including mentoring with university teachers, business to business mentoring, and mentoring in the military have been added to the Mentor Directory.

• SIXTEEN new program descriptions have been added to the database of peer program descriptions.

• Members of the Peer Resources Network now have access to the largest database of Peer Programs, the most comprehensive annotated bibliography on peer work, and the most extensive number of online papers on peer helping.

• Another reason to focus on mentoring? Succession planning was rated as the most serious and important issue in leadership development, according to the 1998 ASTD First Quarter Survey.

• Trimark Investments has launched the Canadian Women's Mentor Awards 2000, and is seeking nominations from men or women across Canada. Their website provides details and nomination forms, and the Peer Resources' mentor survey as part of their interactive site.

• A new peer workbook has been published for persons training to provide peer education services in substance abuse prevention programs. The workbook, The Tobacco Reduction Strategy Peer Helper Workbook, is available free to members of the Peer Resources Network in the password protected section of this website. Nonmembers can purchase a copy online.

• The premier issue of Compass: The Magazine for Peer Assistance, Coaching and Mentoring has been distributed by mail to members of the Peer Resources Network during the second and third week of January, 2000.

• Peer Counsellor Journal, Vol 14, No. 1, has been published and has been mailed to members of the Peer Resources Network. Sample copies are available to non-members by sending an e-mail message to: helpful@islandnet.com.
• The final report of the Out-of-the-Mainstream Youth Peer Trainer Workshops (held in Toronto and Winnipeg) is now available in our

• The recently published ERIC Digest No. 194, New Perspectives on Mentoring, has been added to the Peer Resources document pages.

• More than 650 new entries have been posted to the Peer Resources Annotated Bibliography.

• Twenty-seven new examples of mentoring have been added to the Mentor Directory

• Seventeen new additions of peer programs from around the world have been added to the Peer Programs list

• The latest quarterly issue of Oddysey: The Mentor Newsletter has been mailed to all Peer Network members. Sample copies are available by contacting Peer Resources.

• Peer Assisted Leadership - A Yearlong Program of Professional Development for Educational Leaders Involved in School Improvement has been added to our Winnipeg in May, 1998 and the other to take place in Toronto in April, 1998. Both workshops are for adults who work with at-risk youth and who want to initiate or stengthen peer-based programs for youth at-risk. These workshops are free to qualified applicants. Call Peer Resources 1.800.567.3700 for more details.

• Peer Helper Initiatives for Out-of-the-Mainstream Youth: A Report and Compendium is available for download on our Peer Resources Documents page. This study focuses on the types of peer helper initiatives which are successful in working with youth-at-risk and the challenges that are present when developing or maintaining peer helper initiatives. The study was based on site visits in selected communities, interviews, and focus group discussions with youth-at-risk and those providing services to these young people. This report, which relied strongly on work by Rey Carr, includes a list and description of Canadian peer programs created for street youth, details the challenges of establishing peer programs for street youth, and provides guidelines for peer program development.

• A new train-the-peer trainer workshop has been scheduled for April 22-24 in Ottawa in French. Call Peer Resources c/o Dr. René:e Piché: at (613) 733-0001.

• The Ask A Mentor feature has been activated.

• Additional peer, mentor, and coach documents have been added to the list of papers available online.

• All back issues of the Peer Bulletin are now available in the password protected area of the Peer Resources publication pages.

• Four coach training workshops have been added to the 1998 workshop schedule: Seattle, April 8-10; Phoenix, April 27-29; Santa Fe, April 30-May 2; and Toronto, May 27-29. Information about these workshops and online registration form are available on our (A HREF="http://www.islandnet.com/~rcarr/coach.html">coach pages.
• The next issue of the Peer Journal (Vol. 13 No. 2) has been snail mailed to Peer Resources Network members. Persons who are not members of the Network can receive a sample copy by completing a survey.

• Past issues of the Peer Bulletin are now archived in the Peer Resources Documents Section. (Access is available only to members of the Peer Resources Network.)

• Peer Resources combines with Access Consultants of North Vancouver to launch a major peer contact program for one of the largest corporations in North America. This pilot project will train employees to provide peer support and assist the organization to establish liaison between peer support and employee assistance programs. The goal is to reduce the costs associated with health benefits without reducing the benefits, and prevent loss of productivity due to alcohol, drugs, or family or personal stress.

• The December, 1996 issue of New Age Journal featured an article on coaching and listed Peer Resources as one of the organizations that provides Life/Career Coach Training Workshop.

• Search our continuously up-dated, comprehensive, annotated Peer Helping Bibliography. More than 1000 peer research studies, program descriptions, training resources, and related studies are organized into fourteen peer, coach, and mentor categories. This database is available without a password until the end of December, 1997.

• The pilot project for Peer Career Support, funded by Industry Canada's SchoolNet, has been completed. All the resources are now online with navigation tools, career preparation guides, college and university information, employment opportunities, training modules, and special needs hot links.

• The comprehensive paper, Mobilizing Peer Support for Tobacco Reduction is now available online in the Special Projects Section.

• A list of the top reference books and videos for mentoring and peer helping are now included in our resources section along with our own publications on these topics. We have provided e-mail contact info for the authors or publishers of these works, and if we have a review on-line, you can access that review.

• The standards, criteria and procedures associated with national certification as a peer trainer have been placed online.

• A completely revised brochure describing Peer Helping is now available for no-cost distribution. The brochure informs readers about peer roles and skills, the seven ingredients of effective peer programs, local and national resources, and what peer helping is not. The brochure is available in English or French and can be ordered on-line.

• The latest issue of Oddysey is available on-line, Vol 3, No. 2, and contains reports from Canadian mentoring programs, details about the content of a mentor program development workshop, and summaries of the latest research on mentoring.

• Health Canada has at long last published Peer Helper Initiatives for Out-of-the-Mainstream Youth: A Report and Compendium. This 86-page report, which relied strongly on work by Rey Carr, includes a list and description of Canadian peer programs created for street youth, details the challenges of establishing peer programs for street youth, and provides guidelines for peer program development.

• The final report of the Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Peer Helping Project has been completed and has been sent to the B.C. Ministry of Health's Alcohol and Drug Programs. The report is available on-line in our document archive.