A mentor holds aspirations, provides friendship, and supports positive youth development “one child at a time.”
Today’s youth in Central California are subject to social pressures that can result in:
- Drug and alcohol abuse
- School drop-outs and low educational attainment
- Teen pregnancy
- Gang participation
Mentoring provides protective factors that can help youth avoid getting caught up in these social epidemics. Our new pre- and post-match survey of youth locally demonstrates solid results. While collecting a large sample is still in progress, initial results of youth ages 9 and over at the end of their first year together show that:
Community-based matches (meeting about 12-20 hours a month):
- 71% improved their belief they would finish high school for a full 85% now believing they will graduate
- 58% get higher grades
- 70% improved their feelings of school competency
- 67% improved their feelings of social acceptance
- 38% improved their grades
School-based/High School Bigs matches (meeting about 4 hours a month) :
- 67% improved their feelings of school competency
- 59% improved their grades
- 55% improved their feelings of social acceptance
- 46% improved their belief they would finish high school for a full 77% believing they will graduate
Mentoring is cost effective. About $2,000 a year supports a match. This compares to $30,000 for a youth in in-patient drug or alcohol treatment or as much as $80,000 for a teen in the California Youth Authority.
A 2009 national study by Harris Interactive shows that of 200 Adult Little Brothers and Sisters surveyed:
- 90% agreed that their Big made them feel better about themselves
- 81% said their Big helped to change their perspective of what they thought possible
- 65% felt that their Big helped them to reach a higher level of education than they thought possible
- 84% stated that their Big taught them the importance of helping others
To see the full study, click here or view the brochure here.
Mentoring works. Transforming a community, changing lives for the better, forever. Starting something one child at a time.
