DEARBORN — The Arab American Women’s Business Council, where women can become either a mentor or mentee and achieve personal development, kicks off its mentorship program at Habib’s Cuisine on Wednesday, May 18, at 6:30 p.m. 

The program involves matching up mentors and mentees based on the needs of mentees and the field of expertise of mentors who can support their needs. The matched individuals work cooperatively toward the achievement of agreed upon goals that will improve the mentees’ skills, abilities and knowledge.

Not only does the mentee benefit, but the mentor also gains professional networking opportunities, personal development and fulfillment from helping mentees achieve their goals. 

“I encourage professional women to join this program because there are many benefits to mentoring,” Mervat Jaafar, board member of the AAWBC, said. “Some of those benefits include developing a sharper focus on what you need to grow professionally within your organization and elsewhere.”

The minimum requirement for a mentee is a high school diploma or its equivalent.

The mentorship program started in 2007, the year AAWBC began, partnering with the University of Michigan until last year and providing mentorship to more than 100 students. Now, the program is associated with the Henry Ford College WINGS mentoring program.

Women interested in taking part of the mentorship program for 2016 are welcome. Members of the AAWBC pay $5 and non-members pay $10 to attend.