Sen. Brendan Crighton Honored By Mass Mentoring Partnership

A release from the office of State Senator Brendan Crighton:

Mass Mentoring Partnership (MMP), a statewide organization dedicated to expanding empowering youth-adult relationships in Massachusetts, honored Senator Brendan Crighton for his work to champion this year’s Mentoring Matching Grants line item which brings more than $750,000 to mentoring programs statewide. This includes nearly $75,000 distributed to mentoring programs north of Boston. Sen. Crighton was recognized at MMP’s Cheers to Mentoring event on Nov. 28th in Boston.

The funding stems from the Massachusetts FY19 budget through the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. Since 2009, MMP has awarded more than $4 million in Mentoring Matching Grants to youth serving organizations throughout Massachusetts. This year’s grants will create and support more than 3,000 high-quality youth-adult matches statewide.

“We couldn’t provide this support to programs north of Boston and across the state without strong advocates like Sen. Crighton standing behind us,” said Lily Mendez, President & CEO of Mass Mentoring Partnership. “Thanks to his work, this increase of more than 50% in funding will help us provide essential relationship for young people to support and guide them.”

Through the FY18 Mentoring Matching Grants, programs north of Boston will receive nearly $75,000 to support their work. These programs include:

● Centerboard, Lynn

● Big Friends Little Friends, Merrimack Valley

● Girls Inc., Lynn

● Melrose CARES

● RAW Art Works, Lynn

“I have seen firsthand the impact that these funds have on young people in my district,” Sen. Crighton said. “These mentoring programs help improve academic performance, prepare youth for the workforce, and inspire young people to achieve their dreams. I am honored to be recognized by Mass Mentoring Partnership and I thank all of the mentors out there who continue to make a difference.”

Serving as the only state funding dedicated to mentoring, the Mentoring Matching Grants line item (7061-9634) is a competitive grant program designed to create and support mentoring programs and young people across the Commonwealth. Over the last 17 years, this investment has supported over 12,000 mentor matches and achieved many positive outcomes for youth, such as improved attitude towards school and classroom behavior, increases in self-confidence, self-efficacy and positive attitudes about the future.

“Thanks to these increased funds, we will be able to build the capacity of our mentoring program to serve even more young people in Lynn,” said Deb Ansourlian, Executive Director of Girls Inc. of Lynn. “Sen. Crighton’s support of Mass Mentoring Partnership and this line item means so much to us and helping young people reach their full potential.”

To learn more about the Mentoring Matching Grants line item and other MMP advocacy efforts, please visit:massmentors.org/advocacy.