Greater Boston: Hyde Square Task Force and Sociedad Latina teamed up with other youth-serving organizations to lead a forum, in front of the School Committee and Superintendent Carol R. Johnson, about school budget cuts...Big Sister Association of Greater Boston partnered with Bloomingdales on a one-day, in-store mentoring promotion on Feb. 25 in the Chestnut Hill Store...Generations Inc. is benefiting from a social at Kingston Station on March 24.
Southeastern MA: Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts is hosting the annual "Our Girls Our Future" annual advocacy event in Norwood on April 16...SMILES was featured as part of a report titled "Project Dropout" on Boston's NPR radio station WBUR 90.9 FM that aired March 2 in partnership with the WGBH public TV station. Western MA: Raymond Ross, executive director of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Berkshire County, is participating in a March 21 "Bowl for Kid's Sake"...Derek Benton, a mentor with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Hampden County, is profiled in a recent Springfield Republican article...Brett Watson, a forward on the UMASS hockey team, is profiled on the college's athletics department Web site for his involvement with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Hampshire County...The Railroad Street Youth Project is hosting three gourmet dinners, prepared by young culinary students from RYSP under the guidance of celebrity chefs, on March 23, March 30 and April 6.
We want to share your good news! Send your achievements to Lauren Dean at ldean@massmentors.org. |
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Key funding and advocacy updates
Funding
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With funding from Procter & Gamble, MMP is once again providing technical assistance and capacity building services through an outside consultant in the area of financial resource development for youth mentoring programs. The deadline to apply is April 1. For more information, click here.
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MMP has been tracking mentoring funding opportunities through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The best opportunity to date is through the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention RFP to support local youth mentoring programs. Deadline and amount of funds remains TBD. For more information, click here. As soon as information is concrete, MMP will provide more guidance.
Advocacy
- Senators John Kerry and Arlen Specter have re-filed the Mentoring For All Legislation, a $50-million bill that would support mentoring partnerships and direct service programs.
- State Senators Stan Rosenberg and Jack Hart, and Rep. Cheryl Coakley-Rivera have agreed to sponsor restoration of the mentoring line item in the state budget. MMP and the Massachusetts Service Alliance are continuing to seek other legislative supporters. Please click here to find easy tools for approaching your legislators for support. Thanks to all who have helped in this process!
- With the help of Mass Service Alliance, MMP is exploring opportunities for AmeriCorps expansion opportunities through the Recovery Act.
- Additional advocacy items on national funding, legislation and more can be found on the MENTOR/National Mentoring Partnership Web site. We encourage you to sign up for their advocacy alerts.
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Next month, Mass Mentoring will be taking "Mass Mentoring Counts" on the road to New Bedford (April 14) and Tewksbury (April 15)! In collaboration with programs and key partners in both regions, MMP will be highlighting regional results from the biennial survey on the landscape of mentoring in Massachusetts with local business, civic and community leaders. Click here for more information. |
Watch the Celtics courtside!
 Thanks to the generosity of the Celtics, Dunkin' Donuts and TD Banknorth, local non-profits have a great opportunity to attend the National
Champions Celtics' games and enjoy a variety of complimentary  benefits, including courtside viewing of the Celtics' warm-up. Click here for more information. |
Partner with MMP and the Red Sox
 The deadline to apply for the Red Sox Mentoring Challenge statewide mentor recruitment campaign has been extended to April 1. Programs must sign a new agreement every year, so previous particpation does not allow you to automatically re-enroll. Click for additional information and the contract.
Note: Richard Hines recently left MMP to pursue other interests. Program Associate Felipe Suarez is your new point of contact for mentor referrals. For general mentor recruitment inquiries (including statewide campaigns, such as Red Sox Mentoring Challenge and Mentors of Color), please contact Marketing & Mentor Recruitment Director Chris McCue. |
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More news and information...
- MMP CEO David Shapiro was featured on WGBH last week for an interview on the dropout crisis.
- This recent op-ed by a leading researcher refutes the research that President Obama cited when he recommended cutting school-based mentoring.
Boston University's Metropolitan College offers a 50 percent reduction in tuition costs for qualified parents with children in Boston and Chelsea public schools.
- IRS workshops for maintaining nonprofits' tax-compliance status will be held in Boston June 9, 10 and 11.
- Nominations for the Nonprofit Excellence Awards are due April 15. The Massachusetts Nonprofit Network will hold an awards event at the State House on June 8.
- The Hyams Foundation, the Girls' Initiative and the United Way of Massachusetts Bay and Merrimack Valley will host a discussion about family engagement on March 24 from 10 a.m. to Noon in Roxbury. For more information call Kalya Hamlett at 617.445.2737 ext. 17.
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