As most of you know, I am passionate about mentoring NYC high school students and have been involved in this work for the last 12 years.  I volunteer with iMentor as both a mentor and Young Executive Board member because I believe very strongly in their mission to provide long-term 1-on-1 support and guidance to deserving students.  My mentee (Anika - see her adorable photo on the left) and I were matched during her sophomore year and will be together through her first year of college.  Right now we are kick-starting the college selection and application process.  As Anika's school does not have a college guidance counselor, it is crucial that we work through that process together.

This year iMentor seeks to expand to 2000 matches.  Each match costs $1000 to maintain, and although iMentor is well respected and receives grants from prestigious foundations, those grants are not enough.  The Online Donor drive is a crucial fundraising activity.  Your donation will help ensure that a worthy high school student receives the support and guidance s/he needs to succeed.

iMentor matches adult volunteers one-on-one with high school students (mentees) from NYC’s underserved neighborhoods based on shared academic, career or personal interests. Volunteers will be able to mentor teens who may be the first in their family to go to college, helping them achieve their academic and career goals.

• 83%of iMentor mentees graduated from high school (compared to NYC rate of 61%)
• 74% of mentees were accepted into college (compared to the national rate of 33%) 

In January of 2012, Mayor Bloomberg recognized iMentor in his State of the City address, as iMentor partnered with 10 companies in NYC that pledged to recruit 100 employees to join as mentors (Accenture, Barclays, Bloomberg LP, Citi, Deutsche Bank, Ernst & Young LLC, Goldman Sachs, Marsh & McLennan, Morgan Stanley, and UBS). 

To learn more about iMentor, visit www.imentor.org

Want to learn more? Check out what it takes to become a mentor.