Cabot Chronicle Article June, 2026

For this month’s article I’ve asked one of our volunteer mentors, Ellen Cairns, to share about her mentoring experience. Here is her submission:


I have been a mentor on and off for about eight years. My first mentee was a girl who was being fostered here in Cabot, and we spent time together for about two years. We still got together after she moved away, and coincidentally one of her sisters was being fostered (and later adopted) by a woman who had been one of my students when I was a teacher in Huntington, VT. So that was also fun to connect with her again and get to know her a bit as an adult. After that mentee moved out of the area, I took a break from mentoring during Covid.

A few years ago, I made a connection with my current mentee when she was the student assistant in an after-school club I led. We had a lot in common and I asked if she was interested in the mentoring program. She was, and we have been a mentor-mentee pair since then. One thing I thought was interesting- when the then mentor-coordinator and I met with her mother, she said she thought that the mentor program was for kids who were facing challenges or needed extra help. So I just want to say in case other people have that assumption that it’s not the case- mentoring is for everyone! And mentoring can look different for different mentor pairs, too. It can be in-school only, or start in-school but move to doing things outside of school- it really depends on the participants and what everyone is comfortable with. That being said, there are also great guidelines and support within the mentoring program. For example, during the first 6 months, it is recommended that pairs not travel more than an hour from Cabot. As pairs develop trust, outings can branch out further if everyone is comfortable with that. My mentee and I even took a weekend trip to Montreal last year, which was a lot of fun. Fortunately, there are lots of fun activities right around here- my mentee and I enjoy pizza night at the Den, where we play games and catch up. There are of course also great trails to explore, programs at the library to attend together, shooting hoops at the town court- it just really depends on the interests of the mentor and mentee.

The mentor coordinator helps to find the right matches and ensure that the mentor and mentee have similar interests so that it will be fun for everyone. Mark, the current mentor coordinator, is there to help support mentors, and there are also other resources to support mentors. You really don’t need any prior knowledge or experience, as the program is structured to help anyone be a successful mentor. I have really enjoyed being a part of the program and would recommend it to anyone- it truly is one of those things where you get as much, if not more, than you give!

                                -Ellen Cairns