Student/Partner Alliance Closes Out National Mentoring Month

[SUMMIT, NJ] Student/Partner Alliance(S/PA) closes out a month-long celebration of Mentoring Month launched in 2002 by MENTOR: The National Mentoring Partnership (MENTOR) and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. National Mentoring Month focuses on spreading the importance of mentoring through events and social media outlets.

S/PA was established in 1993 and has provided over 2100 scholarships to deserving students in urban NJ. Our program relies on a unique combination of tuition assistance and mentoring to help our students thrive, and ultimately gain admission to college. 100% of S/PA students have gained admission to college over the past seven years.

We started Mentoring Month with our Annual Holiday Party, which drew over 240 mentors, mentees, and family members. On Monday, January, 27th, S/PA held the 3rd Annual Mentoring Networking Event at Christ Church in Summit. Justin Kiczek, Executive Vice President of the F. M. Kirby Foundation and current mentor for S/PA spoke about the impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences(ACEs) on students' lives.

Our program stresses the importance of empowering our mentors with training and support in order to make them informed and positive role models for their mentees.

Research from mentor.org shows that mentors play a powerful role in providing young people with the tools to strive and thrive, to attend and engage in school, and to reduce or avoid risky behavior like drug use. In turn, these young people are:

– 55% more likely to be enrolled in college

– 81% more likely to report participating regularly in sports or extracurricular activities

– 78% more likely to volunteer regularly in their communities.

– More than twice as likely to say they held a leadership position in a club or sports team.

We are expecting 50 new freshmen in the fall and are looking for new mentors. We are holding a mentor recruiting event on February 27th. If you would like to learn more about our program or would like to attend the event, please contact akent@studentpartneralliance.org.

ABOUT:

Student/Partner Alliance

The mission of Student/Partner Alliance (S/PA) is to support motivated high school students at private high schools in New Jersey’s urban areas of Essex, Hudson and Union counties with tuition assistance and mentoring to increase their chances for college admission and scholarships, and ultimately to lead successful and productive lives.