CLEVELAND — Editor's note: Video at the top of this story was originally published on March 8, 2021.
March 8th was a very special day at wkyc studios. For the third year in a row, we collaborated with College Now Greater Cleveland to present Mentor Monday, an all-day recruiting campaign.
This year, College Now is aiming to recruit 850 volunteers for its mentoring program, and we’re proud to say that during our Mentor Monday kickoff to their campaign, 46 volunteers signed up to become mentors.
RELATED: Mentoring During COVID-19: How one mentor is helping her mentee stay on course during the pandemic
During Mentor Monday, we aired a variety of stories in all of our newscasts spotlighting the College Now program. The story topics included mentoring during a pandemic, assisting first-generation college students and connecting young professionals with students. We also explained that College Now, an organization that connects people of all ages with college resources, is responsible for providing mentors for its program participants and for students in the Say Yes college readiness program, too.
That means a lot of mentors are needed – which is the reason why 3News lends its support every year to the effort to recruit mentors.
“Mentor Monday is crucial to raising awareness about Say Yes and the Mentoring Program," says Madeline Rife, Director of College Now’s 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,”
Through Mentor Monday, our station has helped recruit more than 500 mentors in the last two years. Our very own anchor and managing editor, Russ Mitchell, is a mentor himself and a key leader of our annual campaign. As Mitchell can attest, you can make a big impact in a young person’s life by simply becoming a mentor.
"That’s why mentoring is so important," Rife says. "Our students graduate at a rate 20 percentage points higher than the national average for their peer group."
Although Mentor Monday has passed, it's not too late to apply. Volunteers can still sign up here. The deadline is April 1. 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
For more information on our yearly campaign or to watch our Mentor Monday new stories CLICK HERE.
Editor's note: Video in the player above was originally published on March 8, 2021.