MentoringPartnership

Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn. -Benjamin Franklin

Coming into who you are meant to be in this life is precious. The opportunity to help a young soul find who they are meant to be, then witnessing them notice and seize the better opportunities, rather than settling for a life of bad choices – that is priceless. Twenty two years ago, two young gentlemen from Wall Street, Geoff Boisi and Ray Chambers reflected on the immensely beneficial impact mentoring had on their own lives and set out to give others the chance to reap the benefits of one themselves. Recognizing the need for connection and guidance, they wanted to go about it in a new way, a way that would effectively reach as many people as possible. They wanted to meet young adults exactly where they were in life, and connect them with the perfect matches for the optimal mentoring experience. Out of the dreams of Mr. Boisi and Mr. Chambers, a new organization was born, Mentoring Partnership of New York.

Mentoring Partnership of New York is not in and of itself a mentoring organization, meaning they themselves do not mentor individuals. The purpose of the organization is to help others through churches, schools, religious groups, after school programs, non-profits and the like, to set up the best possible mentoring situations for the mentee’s specific needs. Mentoring Partnership of New York is based out of Manhattan (with a sister office in Long Island) as an affiliate to the national organization, MENTOR, with twenty eight partnerships throughout the country, that gives these various outlets the tools and education needed to set up a properly functioning mentorship program.

To those interested they hold classes to get you started then they are followed by a series of workshops held biannually every fall and winter. The workshop classes are once a month for two hours each and there are 6-8 of them. In the classes, you learn essential information, such as screening process’s, improving supervision, and managing mentors and their expectations. In this past year alone, Mentoring Partnership of New York assisted in serving 240 mentoring programs, affecting  57,000 young people. Mentoring Partnership of New York is often asked why they don’t start a mentorship program of their own. Director of Services, Mr. Bruce Beckwith answers by saying, “We never want to be in competition for grants or volunteer support with any of the other organizations that we help set up the mentoring programs with – they need it”. If their mission alone does not show how much they care about helping others as effectively as possible, that selfless statement undoubtedly does.

Youth in mentorship programs:
46% less likely to use drugs, 27% less likely to drink…

A few astonishing facts from the Mentorship Partnership of New York to leave you with: A minor up to 8 years of age that spends their life in and out of the justice system costs the average tax payer over $1 million as opposed to $2000 per child to participate in a mentoring program. Youth participating in a mentorship program are 52% less likely to skip school, 37% less likely to skip class, 46% less likely to use drugs and 27% less likely to drink.

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From the Editor
At Conscious, we are inspired by remarkable people, and so we set out to tell stories that highlight real human interactions and human dignity. You can read more stories like this when you pick up your copy of Conscious Magazine. Subscribe today via our Conscious Shop and sign-up for Conscious Updates.

Photo Credit: Youth At Risk