The Sweet Spot's Mentor Program

As most of you know, we have been working on this program for quite some time. Finally, we are ready and rolling and very excited about this opportunity to be of some help to someone who is newer to gliders or who wants one specific person to go to for advice or encouragement.

Please take a moment to read our introductory post and to familiarize yourself with the program. If you like what you see, please recommend it to new people or to those looking for a little extra support.

Introductory post can be found here:
https://thesweetspot.forumotion.net/rules-why-and-board-orientation-f38/welcome-to-the-sweet-spot-t577.htm#4880


Some background information:

Last February, at the SUGAR Group’s RRRoundup, we asked a group of interested owners, friends and staff to sit down over dinner and discuss “newbie issues.” I specifically asked a few people who were new to FORUMS (and don’t even have gliders), a few people who are new to gliders, and a few who had been glider owners for many years to participate. This group was one of 3 different “discussion groups” during this dinner and was open to anyone else that wanted to participate. This was the largest group, in terms of participation, by far.

From this discussion came many issues that some of us may not think of or remember from when we were newbies. Issues were discussed about feeling lost on the forums (not understanding terms or how to navigate the forum), feeling “left out” of discussions that are not at all about gliders, and feeling scared or embarrassed to ask questions in open forum. Many concerns and issues were shared and discussed. It became clear that we could maybe do a better job at helping "newbies" integrate into the community, make sense of sometimes conflicting information and learn to navigate the forums easily.


This is a LOT for a newcomer to have to process. So, I wondered if there was a way to make things easier, to get good information into their hands and to address all their “feeling” statements by showing them that we understand and that those feelings are important and valid.

Thus was born the idea of this mentor program. So, that’s how we got started.

Each of our mentors are here because they are passionate about helping newcomers. They are committed to their volunteer position and to TSS. Our mentors have a code of conduct and rules that they must abide by. Mentors are supervised by TSS Staff.

Mentors are easily identified by their purple names and by the title of "mentor" under their screen name.

awesome! saved it to favorites ! Thanks for all your hard work Val!!! I have been trying to get myself more familair with the forum. There is just so much!!!! Also thank You so much for the opportunity to mentor here. The one thing that could mess me up is my computer skills (or lack thereof) and bad habits....................................like that..............I keep finding myself backspacing those dots all the time. OK enough fooling around! Again, Thank You!!

What an awesome idea!

Awesome idea but how do you get selected to be a mentor? Do you just volunteer or are you nominated?

Quote :

Awesome idea but how do you get selected to be a mentor? Do you just volunteer or are you nominated?

ditto!!!

Something_To_Believe_In wrote:

Introductory post can be found here:
https://thesweetspot.forumotion.net/rules-why-and-board-orientation-f38/welcome-to-the-sweet-spot-t577.htm#4880


1. How are mentors chosen? Mentors here on The Sweet Spot are carefully selected by the staff of The Sweet Spot. This is through a process of nomination, discussion and voting and is based upon our (the staff's) observation of a person's involvement in the community, level of experience, quality of advice given and performance/attitude when participating in emergency postings on this or other forums.

Mentors must meet a few minimum qualifications before being selected. These include:
* Must have owned gliders for a minimum of 2 years
* Must have demonstrated on the forums that they consistently seek qualified vet care for their gliders
* Must have experienced at least one medical "issue" with a glider
* Must have demonstrated the ability to give sound and consistent advice on the forums

Once selected, a mentor is asked if they would like to participate. The Mentor's participation is also entirely voluntary. They give of their time and resources to help because they care about gliders and the people who own them. We, the staff of TSS, are very grateful to every mentor for their sacrifice.

Hope that helps.

LOL...and me being a "trained observer" should have noted that! Thanks!!

My eyes skipped right over that part. Oops. :)

Can you get a mentor if you do not have suggies yet? Could sure use some help.

LOL. Yes. Our mentors are available to help anyone who would like a 1:1 person to go to with questions or concerns.

If you would like a mentor, hit that little button that says "PM" under this post and send me a "private message" telling me you would like one. Easy as that to get started. :)

I would love a mentor - sign me up. I spoke with Val yesterday and she answered so many questions for me.

Look for a message in your inbox soon. ;)

I really love this idea, every forum should have it.

I hope that one day I will learn to navigate this forum enough that I will be able to mentor but I also hope that my Luna's over-grooming is enough of a health issue because I don't want to experience worst with my ladies!! :]

wellll shadow sent me here to get a mentor lol. Im thinking about breeding my joey (currently 5 months old) in about 6 months to a year. He is alone right now but i have another glider in the room...they just dont get along because they are both non neutered males and one is 9 months old (soon the adult is to be neutered)

so i figured i should round up some info first...then figure out how im going to pick a girly... and such!

I could use a little help when it comes to my babies. Sassy has had her first set of joeys.They are already OOP since (what I thought was 5/31/12, turned out not to be...) 5/29/2012. She has become slightly aggressive, in means of "ramming" your hand and crabbing when it comes to feed time (even when not coming any where near her or the joeys.) Im not doing anything different in feeding her as far as the way that I do it. I have started her on some replacer milk, to help her stay up with her nutrients. Is there anything else I should do? and why has she become aggressive? I mean is this kind of behavior normal? She hasn't refused the joeys or anything like that, she has urinated/deficated the same as usual, her fur is intact and smooth... other than her new aggressiveness, nothing else has changed. Please help if you can... Thanks

Shoot a message to Something_to_believe_in and we can get you hooked up with a mentor.

I need a mentor that has experience with gliders that are not trusting. One is a biter, but has gotten better. Also, I have been on GC, but new to this forum so I should figure it out with time but help wouldn't hurt.
Thank you for this program.

Welcome to The Sweet Spot.
We will get you a mentor as soon as possible while you are waiting enjoy the forum.

You can also do a short post on the problems you are having this way we can get the right person to help you. List things that are happening and things you have tried with out going into to many details.

I am excited to find this site and forum. I have been searching the web for several weeks hoping to find some answers to my glider questions. I have a female (Princess Leia) who is about 1 year. My best friend bought me a male (Han Solo) for christmas who is now about 6 months. They fell in love almost instantly and now I believe I may have a glider family very soon. I am a relatively new glider mom, considering I've only been learning and living with my glider(s) for just over a year now, and I'm both scared and excited to have babies to deal with. I am in much need of guidance through these next few weeks/months on what to expect when expecting (LOL) and how to properly care for a new family. I have much more specific questions but I will save those for the mentor who is brave enough to tackle this sensitive and very important time with me. Looking forward to hearing from you soon! -Kaitlin

Hey Kaitlin - I sent you a private message. Look for the link at the top of the page. :)

how do you go about getting a mentor?

All you have to do is let me know and I will get you matched with one. Look for the flashing message above telling you you have a new message.

Hi, I recently became a suggie mom to two suggie baby girls ( and am waiting on twin brother and sister from a breeder) but my girls have been a challenge. Bonding is going slowly and I'm going through a lot with one of them eating her tail. I really need a mentor. Please help. Thanks!

Welcome to TSS and we will get you matched up with a mentor shortly.