Weston resident helps to sustain and grow the Mazie Mentoring Program

Bob Keller, 76, of Weston, became involved in philanthropy in the 1960s; he proceeded, over the next four decades, to use his finance and development skills to found a successful nonprofit organization, and work directly with a number of others.

Today, the retired CFO serves as president of the board for the John Andrew Mazie Memorial Foundation (JAMMF) and is focused on sustaining and expanding the success of the Mazie Mentoring Program. He leads the Foundation’s critical development initiatives. 

JAMMF is a nonprofit organization that operates the Mazie Mentoring Program and is dedicated to transforming at-risk high school youth into adults of promise. The unique goal-oriented award-giving program pairs high school sophomores who are at-risk of not fulfilling their potential with adult volunteer mentors who can help them thrive.  In the last 16 years, the Mazie Mentoring Program has helped more than 500 young people go on to lead more successful lives.

As a three-time volunteer mentor, Keller knows first-hand the need for the Mazie Mentoring Program. In 2004, he was matched with Danny, an American-born teenager who grew up in a Spanish-speaking household and lacked focus and direction when it came to his education. Danny recently graduated from Framingham State University. In 2008, Keller was matched with Brandon, a student with good grades who needed help navigating the college prep and application process.  Now, he mentors Smaido, a Haitian native who came to the United States six years ago and struggles with English as his third language. All three of Keller’s mentees share a trait: they know that hard work is an investment in their future and they want to make the investment.

“Through my mentoring experiences, I’ve learned what it’s like for these kids who are at a disadvantage culturally and financially and have parents who may not be able to help them in specific ways through no fault of their own,” says Keller. “Not only do many of these kids go to college or other post-secondary training programs, but they return to their communities, get jobs and have the interest and preparation to become mentors themselves. That alone is an indication of the program’s necessity and of its success.”

During each of his mentorships, Keller met with mentees an average of eight hours a month over the course of two and a half years to talk about sports, catch up on life, become exposed to local cultural resources and set goals. While each of Keller’s mentees went on to college partly due to the assistance he provided to them, Keller says the impact the boys had on his life was equally meaningful. 

“To be a mentor is a commitment that is both a rewarding and fulfilling experience,” says Keller. “The way the Mazie Mentoring Program is structured, you develop unique relationships with these kids while working with them to achieve goals that force you to be patient and think outside the box. In turn, you also grow as a person.”

For the last three years, Keller has served as president of the Foundation’s eight-person board. He develops fundraising initiatives for the organization and leads the Mazie team that rides in and raises money for the Rodman Ride for Kids, an umbrella matching gift charity that raises funds for social service agencies focused on at-risk kids in Massachusetts. The Ride is the largest youth-oriented fundraiser in the country. In 2013, Keller helped to raise $65,000 through the team’s participation in the annual event. The Rodman Ride for Kids is the primary fundraiser for the Mazie Foundation.

Each year, up to 60 Framingham and Waltham High School students are accepted into the program. More than 90 percent of those students graduate from high school and more than 70 percent go on to college or other post-secondary training programs.

“Lowell Mazie, the program’s founder and executive director, has created the most successful structured youth-oriented programs I have come across and its success is due to the amount of time and passion he dedicates to the cause,” says Keller. “Our job is to develop a plan to sustain the Mazie Mentoring Program and one day expand to communities beyond Waltham and Framingham.”

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. Applications for volunteer mentors are always gratefully accepted.