Stamford Public Education Foundation Honors Volunteer Mentors

From the Stamford Public Education Foundation.

The Stamford Public Education Foundation (SPEF) celebrated the commitment and hard work of its volunteer mentors and dedicated program partners at its 2nd annual Mentor Appreciation Night on Wednesday at the UConn Stamford campus.

SPEF’s volunteer mentors and partners are instrumental in the success of SPEF’s flagship program, the Stamford Mentoring Program. As Part of National Mentoring Month, this year SPEF honored the outstanding contributions of:

• Richard Bullitt -- Community Volunteer
• Sean Masterson from McLagan (a management consulting firm) -- Corporate Volunteer
• Cynthia Aguilar -- College Volunteer
• Dr. Annamaria Csizmadia -- Outstanding Service Award

After the presentation of the awards, attendees enjoyed a complimentary dinner and had time to share conversations with mentors, students and their families, school and UConn Stamford faculty members, and program sponsors.

About the Stamford Mentoring Program: The program started five years ago, in 2010, to provide students needing additional academic and/or social support with the resources and guidance necessary to be successful during middle school, high school and in all college/career endeavors. It focuses on four main objectives: goal setting, academic engagement, extracurricular activities and college and career readiness. 375 students in grades five through twelve are participating in the program this year (2014/2015). The demographics of these students are: 70% free/reduced lunch, 43% spoke a language other than English as their primary language, 39% black, 16% white, 42% Hispanic, and 3% Asian.

About SPEF: In its 15th year, The Stamford Public Education Foundation’s mission is to support the students and teachers in Stamford’s Public Schools through community collaboration and philanthropy. At the elementary level, the foundation supports literacy initiatives and at the middle and high school levels our focus is on college and career readiness. For further information or to make a donation call 203- 965-7733 or visit www.spefct.org.