College Now Greater Cleveland’s Mentoring Program seeks volunteers to mentor scholarship recipients through their four years of college. The goal of the program is to ensure 80 % of students graduate from college, which is the national average for students of the highest income quartile in the U.S. Mentors have an important role in student success by providing emotional and professional support to mentees. Mentors and mentees connect twice monthly through an online platform, and also at three annual events hosted by College Now in downtown Cleveland. College Now also provides training, support, and advice to mentors and mentees on an ongoing basis.
The Mentoring Program is in its fifth year, and has over 1,000 mentor-mentee pairs. In our first three years, 97% of our mentored students continued from freshman to sophomore year in college – a stunning success! To serve our incoming freshmen in 2016-17, College Now is recruiting 250 mentors. To volunteer, you must have completed a college degree, have access to the internet, and complete a brief training and screening process. As pair interactions take place online, program requirements can be met on your own schedule.
Your small investment of time can make a huge difference in a young person’s life! According to a current mentee attending Cleveland State University, “The College Now Mentoring Program was one of the best things that ever happen to me. I appreciate the relationship with my mentor who guided me along practical paths leading to my educational and career goals. . . . Not only do I have an organization cheering me on to succeed, but one that believes in me enough to inspire me to be a mentor to someone else.”
To learn more and apply, please visit our website, www.collegenowgc.org/mentor, or contact Madeline Rife, Mentoring Program Manager, at 216.635.0163 or [email protected]. Sign up by May 2 to be considered for a match starting in August 2016.
