History – Rogue Valley Mentoring

In the past 18 years, we have provided mentors to thousands of young people and have trained hundreds of committed adults as mentors, some of whom have volunteered for over five years.

Enjoy this interview with an RVM mentor & mentee from January, 2016 about the history, values, and activities of Rogue Valley Mentoring.

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IN THE AUTUMN OF 2005, a number of women in our community came together to explore ways of mentoring girls through their adolescent years. The Rose Circle was born, and initially only offered mentoring circles for girls in Ashland. In September 2008, RVM opened our mentor training and mentor services to men and boys. In 2009, we added one-to-one mentoring to the services we offer. In 2016, we announced our new name and logo: Rogue Valley Mentoring.

TODAY, most of our mentoring circles take place in the schools, we still offer a 1-to-1 mentoring program, and we offer free community programs, such as our Rising Resilient Summer Camp and our Youth Leadership Advisory Board!!

Some past special mentoring projects we’ve launched include:

OUTDOOR PROGRAMS—Camp Luna, Luna Day, Luna Journeys, and an annual Summer Camp at our Nature Center in Lithia & Driveway Fields.

YOUNG MOTHERS CIRCLES—circles of support for young moms

YOU ROCK—teen variety shows to showcase the talent of area youth

WILDFIRE SUPPORT CIRCLES—following the Almeda fires, Rogue Valley Mentoring mentors went to the Jackson County Expo Center to listen to those who were displaced form their homes

DÍA FESTIVO—in 2021 & 2022, RVM provided personal gifts to over more than 70 local families, along with a day of celebration complete with free food & raffles, music, a community closet, great company, and fun games!

WHAT GIVES YOU STRENGTH ART EXHIBIT—You may have seen our traveling art exhibit at the Medford Library, Pollinator Project in Phoenix, and Talent City Hall in 2022 and 2023. At the Almeda Fire Anniversary Event in 2022, our staff asked the community What Gives You Strength? In response, we collected dozens of beautiful handprints, with short descriptions of what brings each person strength. We displayed this around the Rogue Valley throughout 2022 and early 2023; we look forward to sharing more community projects with you soon!

YOUTH LEADERSHIP ADVISORY BOARD (YLAB)—Jackson County youth, from 6th grade through college, meet to discuss current issues impacting them, share their experiences, and collaborate on a presentation to community decision-makers and members, Rogue Valley Mentoring’s Youth Panel, each Spring.