CLEVELAND — Monday, March 8 is a very special day at WKYC Studios as we present “Mentor Monday,” an all-day recruiting campaign.
Throughout our newscasts, we will shine a light on the College Now of Greater Cleveland mentoring program.
Viewers will hear stories from mentors and mentees on a variety of topics including mentoring during a pandemic, assisting first-generation college students, and connecting young professionals with students. The hope is that on Mentor Monday, we can recruit at least 100, hopefully more, volunteers to sign up for the College Now mentoring program.
College Now is an organization dedicated to connecting students with scholarships, college resources and they match students with mentors. The organization has helped improve retention and graduation rates.
"That’s why mentoring is so important. Our students graduate at a rate 20 percentage points higher than the national average for their peer group,” says Madeline Rife, Director of College Now’s mentoring program.
Since 2019, College Now has been responsible for finding mentors not just for its own program participants but for Say Yes students too. The Say Yes Cleveland initiative provides eligible Cleveland students with scholarships and important resources for college readiness.
“Mentor Monday is crucial to raising awareness about Say Yes and the Mentoring Program. The Cleveland community has made an amazing commitment to invest in education through the Say Yes scholarship and wrap-around services model. The program won’t be worthwhile to students – or to the community – if students aren’t able to successfully complete college,” says Rife.
Through Mentor Monday, our station has helped recruit more than 500 mentors in the last two years. Our very own anchor, Russ Mitchell is a mentor and a key leader of our annual campaign. He has been mentoring his mentee Mario Wilson, a student at Colorado College, for the past two years.
Although Mentor Monday has been successful in the past, the demand for mentors is still great. That is why we are presenting Mentor Monday for the third year in a row.
Here is what you can expect on Mentor Monday:
Watch our newscasts! You will hear stories about the mentoring process from mentors and mentees. We will also explain how to sign up for the program. Catch our stories airing at 4:30-6:30 am, Noon, 5pm, 6pm, 7pm, and 11 pm.
The requirements to become a mentor are:
- Fill out an application
- Complete a short phone interview
- Attend a brief orientation
- Pass a background check
- Hold a college degree
- Commit to communicating with your mentee twice per month through email and meet three times per year
To apply to become a mentor click here. The deadline is April 1. And watch Mentor Monday on WKYC on March 8 to learn about the College Now mentorship program.