Waltham High School Students Make a Difference through the Mazie Mentoring Program

Pictured in the front from left to right: Mazie mentee Elijah Williams, Mazie mentor Vikram Dutt, Mazie mentor Don Kendall, Mazie mentee Gerardo Miljanovich, Mazie mentor Raju Datla and Mazie mentor Mark Fung-A-Fat. Pictured in the back from left to right: Mazie mentees Gregory Gonzalez and Matt Pintabone.

WALTHAM, Mass. – On Saturday, nine Waltham High School sophomores and mentees of the Mazie Mentoring Program volunteered alongside their mentors for a City Hall clean up event to help beautify two of Waltham’s local children’s parks. Matched nearly a month ago, the new mentee-mentor pairs bonded while picking up trash to fulfill one of two community service requirements they must satisfy within the first three months of starting the program, which is operated by the John Andrew Mazie Memorial Foundation (JAMMF). JAMMF is a nonprofit publicly funded organization dedicated to transforming at-risk or disadvantaged youth into adults of promise. Over the past 16 years, the Mazie Mentoring Program has helped more than 600 young people go on to lead more fulfilled and successful lives while inspiring the adult volunteer mentors who work with them. Through the unique, goal-orientated and reward-oriented scholarship award giving program, mentors work with high school students for five semesters to improve their academic standing, build confidence, apply to college and experience success. Along the way, students work to set and achieve goals while earning rewards, culminating in a college scholarship. Each year, the Mazie Mentoring Program accepts 60 Framingham and Waltham High School students. More than 90 percent of those in the program graduate from high school and more than 70 percent go on to college or other post-secondary training programs. For more information about the Mazie Mentoring Program, to become a mentor, or to support the John Andrew Mazie Memorial Foundation, visit www.mazie.org.

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