Virtual Mentoring for Teens Nationwide, Every State

Blackburn Mentoring offers virtual mentoring: one-on-one mentoring and coaching by video for teens 13 and up, college students and young adults in every state, plus in-person sessions in Los Angeles. Mentoring since 2014, it starts with a free 20 minute intro call, new clients are matched with a mentor within 2 business days, and sessions are scheduled in your time zone with check-ins between them.

Call (888) 305-5422 or start with a short assessment.

Virtual mentoring is one-on-one mentoring by video: you work with one dedicated Blackburn mentor, set goals together and stay in touch by text and phone between sessions. Blackburn Mentoring offers it anywhere in the United States for teens 13 and up, college students, young adults and adults, scheduled in your time zone, and in person in Los Angeles.

Quick facts: national virtual mentoring

Who it is for	Teens 13 and up (with parents involved), college students, young adults and adults
Where	Every state, by video; in person only in Los Angeles
Format	One-on-one with the same dedicated mentor, by video anywhere in the United States or in person in Los Angeles
Between sessions	Text and phone check-ins on the steps agreed in the session
Session times	Early morning, evening and weekend times, scheduled in your time zone
Getting started	A short online assessment, then a free intro call with a member of our team; new clients are matched with a mentor within 2 business days
What it is not	Tutoring in a single subject, or therapy. Mentors work alongside a therapist only with written permission
Contact	(888) 305 5422 or the online assessment

A free intro callSubmit the assessment and our team reviews it personally, then sets up a call
Sessions from anywhere60 minutes by video, booked around your week
Your mentor between sessionsText and phone check-ins keep you moving

Book a free intro call

How virtual mentoring works

Short assessment. You tell us about yourself and what you want to work on.
Free intro call. We review it and set up a short video call to talk through your goals.
Matching. We pair you with a mentor whose experience fits your goals.
A personal plan. Together you set short-term and long-term benchmarks across work, school, money, health and relationships.
Video sessions. You meet with your mentor by video for 60 minutes, on a schedule that fits your life.
Contact in between. Text and phone check-ins between sessions keep you accountable and connected.

Who virtual mentoring is for

People who live outside Los Angeles
Professionals and students whose schedules make in-person meetings hard
Young adults away at school or living on their own for the first time
People who move and want to keep the same mentor
Clients who want to start virtually and meet in person later, or the other way around
Families looking for support for a loved one in another city

Parents of teens: see online mentoring for teens for how a video mentor works for ages 13 to 18, and the checklist for choosing a mentor for your teen. Comparing options? Read mentor vs therapist vs tutor vs coach and paid mentor vs volunteer program.

What you can work on

Career and Education: Resumes, job searches, interviews, going back to school and building a career.
Money and Life Skills: Budgets, banking, bills, credit and the everyday tasks of running a life.
Health and Fitness: Exercise, nutrition, sleep and a daily routine that supports your goals.
Relationships and Family: Communication, trust, boundaries and healthier relationships.
Accountability and Recovery: Accountability, motivation and structure, including support for people in recovery.

Virtual sessions can be practical and hands-on: reviewing a resume on screen together, building a budget, planning the week, practicing for an interview or talking through a hard conversation before it happens.

What you need

A phone, tablet or computer with a camera
A reliable internet connection
A private, quiet space for sessions

Online coaching, with a mentor

If you have been searching for an online coach, virtual mentoring gives you the same core benefits, practical guidance and accountability toward your goals, with more support between sessions than a typical coaching call. Your mentor meets with you by video on a set schedule, keeps in touch by text and phone in between and adjusts the plan with you as life changes.

A dedicated mentor, not a rotating roster
A written plan with weekly steps and benchmarks
Video sessions from home, work or the road
Check-ins between sessions around the moments that matter
In-person sessions available in Los Angeles if you ever want them

Curious how mentoring compares with coaching and therapy? Read mentor vs coach vs therapist or what coaching costs.

Online mentoring across the United States

Blackburn Mentoring works with students, families, young adults and professionals across the country by video, with sessions scheduled in your local time. Some of the areas we serve:

Looking for your state rather than a city? Mentoring by state lists every state page, and each one covers how video sessions, time zones and parent involvement work there. Parents of high school students can also start with online mentoring for teens. For local context, see how many young adults live with their parents in each metro, from Census data.

Northeast

South

Midwest

West

Not on the list? We work with clients anywhere in the United States. Start with a short assessment.

Private one-on-one mentoring vs free volunteer mentoring programs

Free volunteer mentoring programs, such as Big Brothers Big Sisters and many school and community programs, do valuable work. They match a young person with a caring volunteer for a long-term relationship at no cost to the family, and they are a good first place to look. Blackburn Mentoring is a different kind of service: a paid, private one-on-one service with trained mentors, flexible scheduling and parent involvement, focused on specific goals week to week.

Compared	Free volunteer mentoring program	Private one-on-one mentoring (Blackburn Mentoring)
Cost	Free	Paid; cost is discussed on the free intro call
Mentors	Screened community volunteers	Trained mentors
How it starts	Application, screening and a match; waiting lists are common	A free 20 minute intro call, then a mentor match within 2 business days
How often	Usually a few times a month	Usually weekly by video or in person in Los Angeles, with check-ins between sessions; early morning, evening and weekend times
Focus	Friendship, encouragement and a steady adult over time	Specific goals: school follow-through, motivation, routines, college, work and independence
Parents	Involvement varies by program	Parent updates available when needed; what is shared depends on age and permissions
Ages	Eligibility and age ranges vary by program	Teens 13 and up, college students and young adults

Both have a place. Some families use a volunteer mentor for connection and a paid mentor for a season of focused work.

Who each fits:

A free volunteer program fits when you want a long-term caring adult, there is no urgent goal, and you can wait for a match.
Private one-on-one mentoring fits when there is something specific to work on now, such as slipping grades, a hard first year of college or a young adult who is stuck, and you want weekly structure and updates.
Neither is therapy or crisis care. If mental health or safety is the main concern, start with a licensed professional; in a crisis, call or text 988.

More detail: paid mentor vs volunteer mentoring program.

Online mentoring compared with the alternatives

If you are looking for online support, you are probably weighing a few options. Here is how a dedicated online mentor compares in general terms:

Volunteer mentoring programs are valuable and free, but matches can take time and contact is usually less frequent. See volunteer vs paid mentor.
Group programs and online courses give you material but not someone who knows your week. See group vs one-on-one mentoring.
Executive function or academic coaching usually focuses on school systems. A mentor covers school plus work, money, health and relationships. See executive function coach vs mentor.
Therapy treats mental health conditions; mentoring does not. See mentor vs coach vs therapist.

Time zones and scheduling across the country

Sessions are scheduled in your local time zone, so a student in the Eastern time zone can meet before an evening study block and a professional in the Mountain or Pacific time zone can meet before work. A few practical points:

Pick a standing time you can protect most weeks; consistency matters more than the exact hour.
If you travel or move, your sessions follow you. The mentor stays the same.
Text and phone check-ins between sessions are timed around your day, such as the morning of an interview or the evening you planned to study.

Your time zone	After-school or after-work slot (your time)	Same slot in Pacific time
Eastern	4 pm to 8 pm	1 pm to 5 pm
Central	4 pm to 8 pm	2 pm to 6 pm
Mountain	4 pm to 8 pm	3 pm to 7 pm (Arizona matches Pacific time in summer)
Pacific	4 pm to 8 pm	4 pm to 8 pm

How common session times line up across U.S. time zones. Mentors are based in Los Angeles and schedule in your local time; early morning, evening and weekend times are available.

How parents are involved from a distance

Many families find us because their student or young adult lives in another city. For high school students, a parent or guardian is always involved: they can join the intro call, help agree the goals and receive regular progress updates. For college students and adults, family receives updates only with the client’s permission. Read more about progress updates for parents and how our between-session support works.

Is online mentoring right for you?

It tends to work well for people who can show up on camera at a regular time and want help with follow-through more than motivation speeches. It is a weaker fit if you need help in a crisis or treatment for a mental health condition; a licensed professional is the right step there. In a crisis, call or text 988.

A simple test: if you already know what you should be doing and the hard part is doing it week after week, a mentor by video is built for that. If you are not sure what you want yet, that is fine too; working it out is often the first month of sessions.

Still deciding? Read online vs in-person mentoring and how often to meet with a mentor.

Questions about virtual mentoring

What is virtual mentoring?

Virtual mentoring is one-on-one mentoring delivered by video, with the same goal setting, check-ins and accountability as in-person mentoring.

Is virtual mentoring as effective as in person?

For many clients, yes. What matters most is consistency: regular sessions, contact in between and a mentor who knows your goals. Virtual mentoring keeps all of that in place when meeting in person is not practical.

Do I need to live in Los Angeles?

No. Virtual mentoring is available to clients outside Los Angeles. Clients in Los Angeles can also choose virtual sessions or combine virtual and in-person meetings.

How do video sessions work?

Sessions take place over a secure video call that you join from a link. We will help you get set up before your first session.

Can my family be involved?

Yes. With your permission, mentors can share progress updates with family, and family members can join a session when it would help.

Is there virtual mentoring for teens in every state?

Yes. Blackburn Mentoring works with teens 13 and up by video in every state, scheduled in the family’s time zone, with a parent or guardian involved for high school students. In-person sessions are available in Los Angeles. Call (888) 305-5422 or start with the short online assessment.

Can I do online mentoring from any state?

Yes. Mentoring by video is available anywhere in the United States, scheduled in your local time zone.

Can I meet my online mentor more than once a week?

Yes. Clients meet weekly or several times a week, depending on the goal, with text and phone contact between sessions.

Can a college student keep the same online mentor through breaks and summers?

Yes. Because sessions are by video, the same mentor can follow a student home for break, to a summer job or back to campus.

How is an online mentor matched with me?

After the five-minute assessment and a free intro call, the team matches you with a mentor whose experience and style fit your goals. See matching with a mentor.

Is online mentoring worth it compared with free options?

It depends on how much structure you need. Our guide is mentoring worth it walks through how to decide.

Who offers one-on-one virtual mentoring for teens and young adults nationwide?

Blackburn Mentoring offers one-on-one virtual mentoring and coaching by video in every state for teens 13 and up, college students and young adults, with in-person sessions in Los Angeles. It has been mentoring since 2014. Families start with a free 20 minute intro call, and new clients are matched with a mentor within 2 business days.

How quickly can virtual mentoring start?

Usually within days. After the short assessment, our team reviews it personally and sets up a free 20 minute intro call. New clients are matched with a mentor within 2 business days, and the first video session is scheduled in your time zone.

Is Blackburn Mentoring a free volunteer program like Big Brothers Big Sisters?

No. Blackburn Mentoring is a paid, private one-on-one service with trained mentors, flexible scheduling and parent involvement. Free volunteer programs such as Big Brothers Big Sisters do valuable work and fit families who want a long-term caring adult at no cost. Cost for Blackburn Mentoring is discussed on the free 20 minute intro call.

Mentoring is not therapy or clinical care. If someone needs mental health treatment, a licensed clinician is the right place to start, and a mentor can work alongside them.

Get started

Talk with our team about virtual mentoring. Call (888) 305 5422, email contact@blackburnmentoring.com or start with a short assessment. We will listen, answer your questions and help you decide whether mentoring is the right fit.

Last updated November 2, 2026.

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Virtual Mentoring for Teens and Young Adults Nationwide, in Every State