| Unique Funding Opportunity Leads to $124K in Recovery Money, Cost-Savings for Programs |
A historic grant opportunity to help host sites of MMP AmeriCorps Ambassadors of Mentoring save money provoked staff to strategically review the current AOM program, budget, and economic challenges of host sites.
This successfully culminated with $123,971 in federal recovery stimulus funding for the AOM program, in which AmeriCorps members serve with mentoring programs and youth-serving organizations statewide to help capacity-build in a variety of program areas.
The successful grant proposal will add four Corps members to next year's group and reduce mentoring programs' cost to host an AmeriCorps member by 40 percent.
The Ambassador program will also be renamed the "Highland Street AmeriCorps Ambassadors of Mentoring" program in recognition of a two-year $250,000 grant from The Highland Street Foundation. MMP is one of 20 nonprofit organizations that the foundation has chosen to recognize as part of its 20th anniversary celebration.
Find out more about the Ambassadors of Mentoring program. |
| Senate Restores Funding to Mentoring Line Item |
The battle to restore funding to the state budget's Mentoring Line Item drew one step closer to victory when the Senate restored the Mentoring Line Item to $517,320. Initially the Senate did not include the funding, but an amendment filed by Sen. Stan Rosenberg, who led a heroic effort, and Sen. Jack Hart and Sen. Susan Tucker, who signed onto the amendment, restored the funding and kept mentoring programs a budget priority for the Commonwealth. Sen. Rosenberg was one of MMP's honorees at February's Youth Mentoring Day, and Sen. Tucker spoke at one of MMP's Mass Mentoring Counts events in April. This also would not have been possible without the impressive collective action shown by all of the mentoring programs in MMP's network that responded each and every time MMP asked for help. Our final push over the next few weeks is to advocate for the conference committee to take on the funding level from the Senate in the final legislative budget presented to the Governor. Check our advocacy page for all the latest updates, and please add to our voices by contacting Elena Sokolow-Kaufman at 617.695.2476 or eskaufman@massmentors.org. |
Mentors of Color Campaign Featured in Bay State Banner
|
A recent Bay State Banner editorial about the MOC campaign - aimed at addressing the racial disparity between mentors and mentees - dispels myths about mentoring, highlights the importance of mentoring and stresses that no special qualifications are necessary.
Although 75 percent of children needing mentors are minorities, according to the Mass Mentoring Counts 2008 survey, only 25 percent of current mentors are African-American, Latino or Asian. The campaign officially launched June 2 with a community event at the Ryan's Lounge at UMass Boston. View photos from the event, and check out the new campaign Web site.For other recent news articles, see our News page. |
