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The class meets every Tuesday and Thursday for 3 upper division units in sociology. This is not a typical class because there is more than one professor and the CSUN student mentors also take a part in training each other from their personal experiences. One day is dedicated to instruction and discussion while the other day is utilized as a planning day for the week. The week's activities are generally relevant to the discussion from the previous class meeting and are implemented the following week. There are regular homework assignments, most of which involve a record of the work that is being done at the after school program site the student is working at. A very strong bond is developed between the MOSAIC staff, professors, and mentors.

After meeting for approximately two weeks, mentors are put in teams and sent to an after school program site in the San Fernando Valley (class meetings continue throughout the semester). There are currently four program sites which MOSAIC

is partnered with, including Jack London Peace Academy, Foothill Jeopardy, San Fernando Valley Partnership, and Positive Alternatives for Youth. For more information on these programs, click on Partners for the community partner web sites.

CSUN students will go through a site orientation with their team, which sparks the mentoring journey. Mentors are typically scheduled for 10 hours per week and are responsible for their own transportation.

A typical day starts with tutoring and transitions into a planned activity taken from the class planning day. The mentors act as facilitators during the activities with the young doing most of the participation. During times when there are no activities scheduled, the mentors take an advantage of spending bonding time together. Mentors are mindful of what is said and how it could be interpreted, while being patient and letting the youth vent first.

Diversity is encouraged and everyone's uniqueness is embraced, furthermore we also ask that all mentors be open minded.

MOSAIC offers you with two great opportunities in our Volunteer Program and Work Study Internship and you can apply to both programs through our web site using our online application. Please choose which program you are interested in applying to and submit our easy online application.

How much time does it really take to change a life?

Many people say they would like to volunteer but do not have time because of school and work. Just an hour a week of sharing your talents, interests, or hobbies can help change these sad facts:

?It is estimated that Los Angeles has over 400 gangs with 65,000 participants. Of these gang members approximately 90% will be arrested by age 18, 95% will not finish high school, and 60% will be dead or in prison by age 20.? - Source