Tigerbeatle presented very valid points why it may not in her post, Winning the Lottery. However, my experience with such programs offers a differing opinion.
If we look up the word volunteer in the dictionary, it offers a description of someone who performs a service willingly and without pay. If we couple that with mentor, which is a wise and trusted counselor or teacher, you have a combination of someone offering their knowledge without pay and for the better of the community as a whole.
Recently, the forum community has been made aware of the mentoring program currently running the IW welcome center, The Coffee Shop, having internal issues. The exact issues at hand are unknown to me, as I am not a mentor. My knowledge, as with others that read the forums, is sketchy at best. However, this post isn't about the issues that plague the mentor group, it's about how a volunteer mentoring program can indeed work if a few things are taken into consideration.
First, and probably most importantly, they need to make sure they keep any internal conflicts within the group off the main forums and out of the Coffee Shop. The community at large does not need or want to know about any personality conflicts, drama, or other issues arising from the mentor program. We want a happy coffee shop with mentors willing to help new and old residents as needed.
The community does not care if Mentor A is having a problem with Mentor B or if Mentor C takes issue with policy 1, 2 and 3. We're human, we'll watch it just like we slow down and check out the accident on I-90 during rush hour. We don't want to look, but if you display it, we will. Then the community starts second guessing things and before you know it, a cluster is forming, feelings are getting hurt and confusion ensues. Founders are then left with the task of clearing the field of misunderstandings a few times over. It's not a pretty sight for anyone involved, as we have recently found out.
The second important task is to make sure that the mentors volunteering their time are not there for their own personal gain. Yes, there is self satisfaction in mentoring, that's not what I'm referring to. The coffee shop is a place to return to, visit with friends, take a moment to relax from building and also the first place all new residents see and experience. The people that frequent the coffee shop are not there for any one particular mentor. They are there for the atmosphere the mentor helps provide.
The third task, probably one of the hardest of them all, is making sure that mentors are all on the same page regarding the rules and what will happen if the rules are broken by residents. Being a mentor isn't always about helping new residents, it's often about making sure the area is a safe haven for others to enjoy. By establishing clear cut rules on how to handle rule-breakers that every mentor must follow we can alleviate personal annoyances from coming into play. This also lends to the fact that there needs to be some sort of system in place for times when personal annoyances are over riding the clear cut rules.
The fourth task is to not step on your residents toes while keeping the mentor group happy with their volunteering. Residents are often happy to share their knowledge with new residents, they are excited to see them rez in and gladly offer their assistance. This is a good thing, it ensures that the Coffee Shop is covered even if a mentor is not present. It also helps alleviate pressure on the mentors to assist every new arrival when they are at the coffee shop. In my world, there is no such thing as too much help. The last thing anyone wants to do is make residents feel as if they cannot speak, interact or help out a new resident if a mentor happens to be present. If there is one thing more harmful to the community, it's making residents feel unwelcome.
Lastly, and I agree with TigerBeatle on this one hundred percent, is that there does need to be a hierchy; a boss, leaders and volunteers. The boss oversees and has final ruling on any internal conflicts, the leaders guide the volunteers on their day to day operations, making sure they are following the guidelines set forth by the boss and the volunteers who mentor new arrivals and help older residents as the need arises.
Will there be drama occasionally? Will there be conflicts and the occasional mentor stomping off because what and how they want things are not happening? Yes, there will be. It's a group of people with differing opinions on how things should be run. Not everyone is going to get along and in all honesty...mentoring or the responsibilities that come with every aspect of it is not for everyone. The goal is to make sure the community is not witness to the train wreck and the coffee shop community is a safe haven for everyone to enjoy and to have fun.
The founders and the mentoring program will find their feet. They have gone from a small world with few mentors to a large world with many mentors over a very short period of time. What they are experiencing now is growing pains. These hurt, but lessons will be learned and the mentoring program on a volunteer basis will work.
Often those who volunteer their time do it because they love to help others. Not for fame, fortune or notoriety. They simply want to help, which is why such groups, if run properly and once out of the growing pain stage, work very well.
