Your first session
Everything you need arrives in one email.
One email introduces everyone
Your match email goes to you and the family together, with the parent already copied. Just hit Reply All to say hello, share a little about yourself, and suggest an idea for the first conversation.
A parent joins the first session
For children under 13, a parent is present for the first session and approves each one after that. For older mentees, the family decides what feels right.
The first time is only the first time
The time we propose is for session one. After you meet, the three of you agree on a rhythm that fits, often around once a week.
Scheduled for 30 minutes
Plan for half an hour. If the conversation is going well, let it run.
Your link never changes
It opens 15 minutes before every session and is the only place your conversations happen. You do not need your own Zoom account.
First sessions take care of themselves
Introduce yourself, ask a question, and have fun. If you would like a plan, the Mentor Manual has a sample agenda.
Staying safe together
The link is where every promise lives.
Always meet on your Eldera link
Never by phone, WhatsApp, or a personal video account, even when the sound is stubborn. Every protection we promise lives inside that link.
Sound trouble?
Zoom's "Join Audio by Phone" keeps you on the link. Or reply to us and we will do a 10-minute tech check before your next session.
The Chaperone stays in the background
It never joins the conversation and never suggests what to say. It reviews each session and flags anything that needs a person's attention. A person, not a system, is at the end of every wire.
Concerned? Tell us the same day
Email community@eldera.ai. A human responds, and you never carry it alone. The reporting protocol explains exactly what happens next.
What they share stays between you
You, the family, and our care team. We do not ask you to report on your mentee.
Life happens
Consistency is the magic. Flexibility is how you keep it.
Same day, same time
A standing hour is the single strongest predictor of a friendship that lasts.
Need to move a session?
Reply on your thread. The family and we are already on it.
Summer, travel, a busy season?
Tell us and tell the family. We will pause everything, and the link waits for you.
There is no graduation at 18
Pairs continue as long as both want. One mentee is at his first job and still calls. The conversations often get longer in college.
When a pair comes to a natural end
We hold a Gratitude Celebration: each of you shares what you are most grateful for about the other.
Step away for a while
We keep your place. Once you are vetted, you are a valued member of our community.
Who is waiting for you
Oakland to Seoul to Berlin, all conversational in English.
Ages 6 to 17, U.S. and beyond
California and every state, and increasingly Korea, Vietnam, and further.
Time zones are a feature
A Seoul Sunday morning is your Saturday evening, and early risers are gold.
Why parents sign up, in their words
“We'd love for our child to have someone outside of us as parents whom he can feel comfortable with and talk openly to.”
Boys asking for a man in their corner
They often wait longest. If you are one, you are in high demand.
Many are shy at first
Many have no grandparents nearby. Some are learning to be themselves in a second language.
We match by hand
The rhyme between your life and theirs, not a checklist. Our matching proposes, and the final decision is always human. You see who you have been matched with before anything is confirmed.
“I don't know” is not a closed door
What progress looks like with a quiet kid.
One-word answers are normal
Many mentees are shy, introverted, or finding their footing in a second language.
Progress shows up in the coming back
Not in the conversation. If they return next time, you are succeeding.
Swap questions for showing
Your garden, your kitchen table, your puppy. Let them react instead of answer.
Do things side by side
Draw the same thing, read a page aloud, play a quick game. Parallel activity produces talk without pressure.
Comfortable silence is allowed
Being unhurried is something adults rarely give young people. They notice.
Earbuds on both ends
Half of "I can't understand them" is audio, not language.
Give it six sessions
That is usually when the turn comes.
We are one message away
A person answers. Always.
Reply to any email from us
A human reads it, and a human writes back.
We will check in with you
After your first session, again around session ten, and every quarter after that, one question: how is mentoring feeling for you?
Mentor Council
Bring questions, bounce ideas, and hear what works from mentors who have done this for years. The invite comes to your inbox.
Not feeling right? Say so early
We would rather rematch at session three than lose you at month eleven. No pressure and no awkwardness, just a new introduction.
The Eldera Community
Socials, book club, wisdom circles, and fellow members. Your welcome email tells you how to join.
For the parents in the room
What you will see, and what to say to your child.
Every mentor is vetted
Identity verification, a background check, references, an interview, and orientation. Ask us anything about it, anytime.
You join the first session
After each one, a short note that it happened and went well. What they talk about stays theirs. That privacy is where the trust comes from.
One link, safeguarded
Your child's link is the only place sessions happen, with a human always in the loop.
Siblings
Every child gets their own mentor. We prioritize brothers and sisters to start within a few weeks of each other.
Fill the profile with all of them
What she loves, what makes him laugh, what you hope for. Our matchmakers read every word.
Tonight, tell your child
Somewhere out there is a wise adult who is about to be very lucky to meet you.
With your help, we are turning our increased longevity into a resource for all generations to thrive, so people can do what really matters: care for each other. Thank you for joining Eldera.