Other men were informed of the mentor opportunities by friends, or by attending our information meetings. Often we would find ourselves approached in the cafeteria or in the hallways of the university and questioned about what was going on with the male mentor program. We would encourage these young men to join our project.
The research team held information meetings regarding the Male Mentor Reading Program each year. For example, this year there are fourteen mentors, eight from the hockey team and six others who are third and fourth year arts students. It was and is our intention, to broaden the type of mentor, to include men who represent other masculinities beyond the traditional idea of sports. Sheldon (one of the mentors) said, "[that we need to include] men who like to collect stamps and men who like to cook...:" We initially approached the athletes as we suspected that they were used to working as a team and that was how the mentors operated in teams of two or three. We approached other male students and they were keen to join the program. There is certain type of camaraderie developing amongst all the university students in our mentor program. At information meetings, the mentors were introduced to the background and purpose of the project. The majority of those who attended these meetings agreed to be part of the project each year. It should be noted that the mentors were asked to fulfill their roles as volunteers.
The training sessions were set up and run by the project researchers. They provided an introduction to the responsibilities of becoming involved. The training also enabled the mentors to practice reading aloud procedures, to reflect on their own reading through discussion, and by examining the reading response activities that they would ultimately select to use with the students. The mentors then had an opportunity to browse through the collection of books.
A Mentor Handbook was prepared for each participant. A list of the expectations and responsibilities of the mentors were included and reviewed with the trainees (Figure 1).