Mentoring Movement exceeds goal of 1,000 new mentors

The City has surpassed its initial goal for the Mayor's Mentoring Movement by recruiting 1,356 new mentors to serve Boston youth.

Mayor Martin J. Walsh yesterday joined with representatives from Mass Mentoring Partnership and mentoring programs across the city to announce that the city has exceeded its initial goal for the Mayor's Mentoring Movement by recruiting 1,356 new mentors to serve Boston youth. The Mayor's initiative was launched in late 2014 with the goal of recruiting 1,000 new mentors in two years. To celebrate this milestone, Mayor Walsh also declared yesterday, Thursday, January 25 as Mentoring Day in Boston.

"We are thrilled that so many caring adults have answered the call to serve as mentors and help make a difference in the lives of young people across the City of Boston," said Mayor Walsh. "Mentorship helps our young people dream bigger and reach higher. I look forward to building on our strong momentum, and get even more people to join our movement and serve as role models for our youth."

Yesterday's celebration at City Hall was part of a recruitment fair that included Mayor's Mentoring Movement programs. City employees and the public had the opportunity to talk with programs about opportunities to mentor young people in different settings.

Mass Mentoring Partnership partnered with Mayor Walsh in 2014 to connect volunteer mentors with mentoring opportunities by referring them to partner programs across the city, who then match the adults with young people waiting for mentors.

"We want to thank our mentoring program partners for all of their work to achieve this exciting milestone," said Marty Martinez, President & CEO of Mass Mentoring Partnership. "These empowering youth-adult relationships can help young people reach their full potential and strengthen our community."

Mentors encourage positive choices, promote high self-esteem, and academic achievement. They foster confidence in young people that allows them to be the best version of themselves and more productive members of society. The impact of a caring adult's dedication and care can lift youth off of a bad path and place them on a road to success.

To learn more about the Mayor's Mentoring Movement, visit: bostonmentors.org or follow the conversation on Twitter using #BostonMentors.

About Mass Mentoring Partnership

Mass Mentoring Partnership (MMP) is fueling the movement to expand empowering youth-adult relationships to strengthen communities across Massachusetts. MMP serves more than 250 mentoring programs and youth development organizations statewide supporting 33,000 youth in caring relationships. For more information, please visit: www.massmentors.org