Chester’s Mentoring Initiative
November 2023
Member Announcements:
All are welcome to share thoughts on safety and learn about becoming a paid safety ambassador for the community. Please share the link: https://delaware-county-pa.civilspace.io/en/projects/vision-zero-action-plan-for-delaware-county
The next Delco Area Resource Network meeting will be Friday, December 15th at 9:30 am at Latham Hall on Widener University's campus, near the intersection of Potter and 13th St. Please visit DARN’s Facebook page or contact Gerry at GGonzalez@cgrc.org for more information.
Our featured speaker was Bruno Marchesi, reachable at 916-203-2015 and BMarchesi@ussoccerfoundation.org.
Bruno is Director of Soccer for Success and was named "Top 16 Most Influential in Health and Wellness" by the National Afterschool Association. He is an expert on bi-lingual mentorship in part because he was an ESL student when he moved to the US from Peru at age 10. You can review his bio at https://ussoccerfoundation.org/people/bruno-marchesi/
In his opening remarks, Bruno shared with us that he felt voiceless and powerless as a Spanish-speaking child in California, wanting to make friends in a new school but unsure how to communicate effectively without the English language. It meant all the world when someone responded and indicated they wanted to help, even just to walk with him through his journey without fully understanding him. A buddy system can help provide comfort and create trusted resources.
He shared that in conversation with someone bi-lingual, even a longtime English speaker may be translating every conversation which may take time. Please have patience and shape the experience to be welcoming.
In communities with cultural differences, trust is harder to come by, but is a key ingredient in relationships and critical compromises. Being intentional and consistent goes a long way in building trust, and it almost always requires a slow and steady commitment. Spend time listening, and consistently show up eager to learn. When you have their trust, you can use your seat at the table to help provide their voice.
Bruno asked us to consider these productive questions:
What do we need to do to better understand the community to see the path to trust?
How can we build and create interactions that help to build trust? (Bruno shared the anecdote of a police department creating positive relationships by helping monitor children's walk home from school after finding that families didn't want to register personal information with the police for a toy giveaway.)
How can we all help translate and interpret practice and policy as we try to speak the language and culture of the community we work in?
How can we learn "what can I add?" and "where is there a gap that I can help fill?"
Is what you have to offer relevant? (It's not about "what I can do for you.")
Is your process facilitating achieving your goal? (Bruno relayed the story of the food bank trying to help people become more self-sufficient, but requiring time of clients that would have been better spent on job searches.)
Who can we create an alliance with to help us, especially if we are outsiders to the community?
What are barriers to success and how can we overcome them?
Below are slides that Bruno shared. As you look at them, consider: where do and your mentee currently reside? Where do you want to be? What communication style will be most effective?
A recommended book and Ted Talk: Tribal Leadership by Dave Logan; https://www.ted.com/talks/david_logan_tribal_leadership
To better understand all of the above, please feel free to watch a recording of our November meeting at:
Passcode: DCB3%Edk
