SLM staff Sally Sanchez-Peña discusses banking and retirement savings with mentee Onyx (right) and their mentor, Mak.
On July 14th, 28 mentees & mentors gathered in the SLM office to play SLM’s Game of Life. This event was part of our CLIMB (Community, Learning, Interdependence, Mentoring, and Belonging) program for transition-aged youth. CLIMB exists to provide more intensive support to meet the unique needs of youth aged 16+ as they prepare to age out of the foster care system.
Mentees were greeted with dinner from Fresh Food Generation and had time to mingle and talk with each other. When the game began, mentees were given a choice of 32 different careers to choose from, each one with a different salary, degree, and level of debt. Mentees then visited stations like Banking, Personal Care, Leisure, Housing & Transportation, and more, and were coached by staff and volunteers on real-life budgeting decisions.
Mentees reflected on their financial priorities, career choices, and how they impacted their budget. Mentors were there alongside them helping with math and providing input. Sometimes you could even hear a groan from across the room as a mentee pulled one of our “Tough Luck” cards, and all of a sudden they had to factor in the additional cost of their car being towed (or any other number of unfortunate real-life setbacks).
SLM Mentee Mohamed (right) and his mentor, Jim
After the game, SLM staff facilitated a conversation with the mentees about what they found surprising and what they would have done differently, while connecting it to their real-life circumstances.
Here’s what SLM staff Suzannah Blass had to say about the experience: “It was such a blast to see mentees get really into this game! They were clearly having fun with the roleplay aspect but also were learning a lot. A few times mentees expressed upset about how much something cost them, which led to some really great conversations with their mentors about the real world cost of things like utilities and owning a car. I was really delighted with how much engagement it encouraged between the mentors & mentees.”
After the game, SLM staff facilitated a conversation with the mentees about what they found surprising and what they would have done differently, while connecting it to their real-life circumstances.
One Silver Lining mentee summed up the Game of Life best: “You will always need someone in your life to support you no matter how old you are or who you are.”
Thanks to donor support, we’re able to pay our mentees for their engagement in CLIMB. Compensating youth for their time fosters increased access and equity and allows mentees to attend without having to consider losing an opportunity to make money or work by attending. Mentees were also given the opportunity to complete a pre-work curriculum module on building hobbies and interests to earn additional funds.
Big thanks to our volunteers, Evenold Guillomaitre of TD Bank and Emily Richard of JP Morgan.
We want to thank our volunteers for the evening, Evenold Guillomaitre of TD Bank and Emily Richard of JP Morgan (pictured), for having insightful conversations with mentees as they explored their life choices. (If you’re interested in volunteering with SLM, fill out this short form here.)
Interested in learning more about mentoring a young person in foster care? Check out the Become a Mentor page and explore options for attending an upcoming volunteer info session.
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