ROCKLAND — Youth mentoring organization Trekkers is now certified to run mentoring programs, activities, and events that are inclusive to youth, volunteers, and staff with disabilities, after a four-month training with the National Disability Mentoring Coalition (NDMC) in partnership with MENTOR. Completing the training is part of a larger diversity, equity, and inclusion effort across the organization.

“We have always been an organization that really wants to meet young people where they’re at,” said Brandon Caron, Trekkers program director, in a news release. “It’s really important we’re trained and taking on efforts to grow, not just in our practices and specific activities we do with students, but also in our awareness of things that we may do that may be exclusive, and we have no idea. If we are opening up our programs to all who apply, we can’t rely on them to teach us – we have to take on some of that learning ourselves.” 

Trekkers was one of 16 organizations that completed full certification. 

“We are thrilled to recognize the accomplishments of our certification cohort,” said Kristin Humphrey, the NDMC Director and one of the lead facilitators of the certification. “Each participating organization created a detailed Inclusion Action Plan, and they have all made huge strides in making their mentoring program more inclusive of people with disabilities.” 

The training spanned a wide range of topics, including the various models and definitions of disability, ableism and inclusion, disability rights and the ADA, Universal Design, inclusive language and communication, inclusive marketing and outreach practices, and more. 

To learn more about the Disability Mentoring Certification, visit www.disabilitymentors.org. 

About Trekkers: For over 25 years, nonprofit organization Trekkers has been dedicated to helping young people thrive. Through its unique six-year mentoring and expeditionary learning program, research shows Trekkers helps students increase their ability to be resilient, build positive relationships, and name aspirations for the future. To learn more, visit the website at trekkers.org.

About the National Disability Mentoring Coalition: The mission of the National Disability Mentoring Coalition is to increase the awareness, quality, and impact of mentoring for individuals with disabilities across the nation. The NDMC has over 340 members from over 170 non-profit organizations, academic institutions, government agencies, foundations, and corporate entities.  About MENTOR: MENTOR is the unifying champion for quality youth mentoring in the United States.

Our mission is to expand the quality and quantity of mentoring relationships nationwide. Potential is equally distributed; opportunity is not. A major driver of healthy development and opportunity is who you know and who’s in your corner. 30 years ago, MENTOR was created to expand that opportunity for young people by building a youth mentoring field and movement.