Impact
We would rather tell you the truth than a number.
Mentoring does not resolve into a tidy statistic, and organizations that pretend otherwise are usually selling something. Here is what we watch, what we hear, and what students say when nobody from the staff is in the room.
What we watch
Our actual scoreboard
These are the things staff check on every month. None of them fit on a bumper sticker, which is rather the point.
A mentor for every kid who asksThe waiting list is the number that keeps us up. We want it empty.
Matches that outlast a school yearPairs that make it past the first spring usually stay together for good.
Seniors who finish the applicationsStarted is easy. Submitted, with the aid forms attached, is the real bar.
Alumni who come back as mentorsThe clearest signal that any of this worked is a graduate at the sign-in table.
Stories
Three that explain the rest
Shared with permission, names used the way each person asked us to use them.
The Thursday table
Career crew, summer
In their words
Said to us, written down as said
“She never once acted surprised that I was smart. That sounds small. It was not small.”
Jasmine R. · Alumna · Bronzeville
“My son does not tell me anything. He tells his mentor everything. I have made my peace with that and I am grateful for it.”
Teresa V. · Parent · Gage Park
“I signed up to help somebody else’s kid and ended up with a standing appointment that is the best part of my week.”
Denise Fowler · Mentor · McKinley Park
On paper
The written version
Once a year we write down what we ran, what changed, what did not work, and what it cost. It is not a glossy brochure and it does not round anything up. Link it here once yours is published.
Add yourself to it
Every story here started with one adult saying yes.
The next one is somebody who read this far and then filled out the form instead of closing the tab.