Month-long initiative yields great public awareness and mentor referrals
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Created by the Harvard School of Public Health and MENTOR, NMM marked its 10th year in 2011. MMP and state mentoring partners across the country traditionally use the campaign to build awareness for mentoring, and this year MMP encouraged programs in our network to acknowledge and appreciate current mentors. Highlights from National Mentoring Month 2011 include: - More than 142 adults signed up to become mentors with 40 different programs
- MMP garnered and distributed more than $4,000 worth of free match activities to over 30 programs across the state
- Exposure from news articles and online ads (see box at right) led to an almost 100 percent increase in web traffic to www.massmentors.org
- Programs in our network held appreciation events to thank their current mentors and recruit new volunteers
- CEO David Shapiro and Chief Program Officer Marty Martinez attended MENTOR's National Mentoring Month Summit at the Library of Congress
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New PSA featuring Celtics' stars debuts at Mentoring Night with the Celtics
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MMP teamed up with the Boston Celtics Shamrock Foundation and the Highland Street Foundation for this first-time event on Jan. 25. Combined, the two foundations donated more than 100 Celtics tickets to mentors and mentees from around the state. Attendees also received t-shirts, hats, cinch bags and gift cards for food while at the game as well as some special pre- and post-game opportunities including the Boston Celtics High Five Kids Tunnel.  | | Paul Pierce |
That same night, the Celtics debuted a new mentoring PSA featuring Paul Pierce and Ray Allen. You can help us promote this PSA in a number of ways: - Post a link to the video on your Facebook page, and encourage others to "like" it, comment on it, or share it on their own walls
- Tweet about it if you have a Twitter account
- Go directly to the video on YouTube and click on "share," where you can tweet about it or share it on Facebook
- Share the video on your own web sites
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| Secretary of Education Paul Reville acknowledges importance of mentors at Youth Mentoring Forum |
More than 175 advocates of quality mentoring gathered at State Street for our informative and inspirational Youth Mentoring Forum: The State of Mentoring in Massachusetts and Its Impact on Student Success.
 | | Secretary of Education Paul Reville at the Forum |
As part of his opening remarks, Secretary of Education Paul Reville noted that mentors in schools and communities are critical to helping our youth develop the skills to close the achievement gap.
In a panel discussion, Principal Nancy Mullen from Matthew J. Kuss Middle School in New Bedford attested that working with the SMILES mentoring program has enabled Kuss to support students both academically and socially and get more adults from the community engaged directly in the school.
Our presentation with the UMass Donahue Institute of the initial results of Mass Mentoring Counts 2010 show that nearly half of responding mentoring programs provide academic support to mentees as their primary impact.
The Forum concluded with Boston City Councilor-at-Large Ayanna Pressley's call to action, "Support is a verb. We cannot be involved in name only." There are many ways you can join with us to to support the expansion of quality mentoring throughout the state. Visit www.massmentors.org or contact Rich Greif, director of marketing and partnerships, at rgreif@massmentors.org to learn how you can get involved.
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Legislators, mentors and program staff honored at State House event
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At the annual Youth Mentoring Day at the State House, more than 200 mentoring program staff, mentors, mentees and state legislators from around Massachusetts gathered in an annual show of support for expanding quality youth  | From left: Sen. Stan Rosenberg, Sen. Michael Rodrigues, Rep. Ellen Story, Rep. Patricia Haddad, MMP CEO David Shapiro and Staples CFO
John Mahoney |
mentoring in Massachusetts. This year's program, presented by the Highland Street Corps Ambassadors of Mentoring and in collaboration with the Massachusetts Service Alliance, featured the inaugural Ignite Awards, given to select mentors and program staff, and the annual Massachusetts Advocate of Mentoring awards, given to Rep. Ellen Story of Amherst, Rep. Thomas Conroy of Wayland, and Sen. Michael Rodrigues of Westport. These legislative awards were presented by Sen. Stan Rosenberg of Amherst and Rep. Patricia Haddad of Somerset. Additionally, MMP helped mentoring programs set up more than 50 meetings with their legislators. Check out our great event photos! |
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