Announcements

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BANK OF AMERICA AND WASHINGTON STATE MENTORS GRANT $75,000 TO 14 MENTORING PROGRAMS

The Bank of America Mentoring Initiative supports support quality mentoring organizations that serve youth from low to moderate income households in Bank of America's targeted market areas in 12 Washington counties. 2008 grantees include:

Big Brothers Big Sisters Island County
Serving youth on Whidbey Island, $5,000

Big Brothers Big Sisters Northwest Washington
Serving youth in Whatcom County, $7,000

Big Brothers Big Sisters Thurston County
Serving youth in Thurston and Lewis Counties, $5,000

Big Picture High School
Serving youth in the Highline School District, $5,000

Boys & Girls Clubs of Lewis-Clark Valley - Giant Killers
Serving youth in Asotin County, $5,000

Catholic Family Services - Foster Care to College
Serving youth in Benton and Franklin Counties, $5,000

Juvenile Rehabilitation Administration - Mentor Program - Region 1
Serving youth in Spokane County, $5,000

Juvenile Rehabilitation Administration - Mentor Program - Region 2
Serving youth in Yakima, Benton, and Franklin Counties, $5,000

Juvenile Rehabilitation Administration - Mentor Program - Region 4
Serving youth in King County, $5,000

Kitsap Alternative Transition School
Serving youth in Kitsap County, $5,000

Left Foot Organics
Serving youth in rural Thurston County, $5,000

Pierce County Alliance - Foster Care to College
Serving youth in rural Pierce County, $5,000

YMCA ASPIRE
Serving youth in Yakima County, $5,000

Youthnet - Foster Care to College
Serving youth in Skagit County, $8,000

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Champions of Mentoring Auction & Luncheon
Friday June 6, 2008
Sponsored by Holland America Line:
Aboard the ms Amsterdam at Terminal 30 – Seattle

Congratulations to all of our 2008 Champions of Mentoring!

Dr. Keith Renfrew
Lawrence and Eric - Big Homie Program
Cherry and Kiara - Bremerton High School REACH for Success
Angela and Chiquita - Rise n'Shine
Nicole and Jasmine - Girl Scouts Fostering a Future
Greg and David - Big Brothers Big Sisters of Snohomish County
Keith and LJ - Friends of Children of Walla Walla
Jane, Bella and Daisy - YMCA ASPIRE
Maureen and Fernando - Communities in Schools of Peninsula
Cynthia and Starcia - DSHS JRA Region Six Vancouver
Doug and Kevin - Communities in Schools of Renton
Doug and Luis - Eastside Academy

Thanks to all of our guests and our sponsor Holland America Line, more than $42,000 was raised in support of Washington State Mentors.

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2007 Champions of Mentoring auction recipients were given the opportunity to experience once-in-a-lifetime items such as shadowing Governor Gregoire for a day, throwing out the first pitch at a Mariners game, playing the role of the grandmother in Pacific Northwest Ballet's Nutcracker, and the list goes on.

L to R: Max & Chris, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Puget Sound.
Honorary first pitch and catch at a Seattle Mariners home game.

L to R: Ana & Janet, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Puget Sound.
Shadow Governor Christine Gregoire.

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2008 State of Mentoring Survey

Dear mentoring practitioner,

Washington State Mentors is conducting its annual state of mentoring survey. Please tell us about your organization and how we might better serve you. WSM has directed over $3.75 million in grants to organizations that have completed this survey.

The survey will take approximately 15 minutes to complete.

Please click on this link to access the survey:

2008 State of Mentoring Survey

Several of the questions in this survey have appeared on previous surveys, but we ask that you answer them again. Survey responses will allow us to track trends over time and provide the most current information to those interested in supporting Washington’s mentoring community.

BY COMPLETING THE SURVEY, YOUR ORGANIZATION WILL BE ENTERED IN OUR DRAWING FOR ONE OF TWO $250 COSTCO GIFT CARDS.

Thank you for your participation!

Larry Wright, Executive Director

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WASHINGTON STATE MENTORS GRANTS $3.5 MILLION TO HELP AT-RISK YOUTH IN 13 COUNTIES

This five-year project will serve up to 3,300 youth across the state and will help close the mentoring gap in Washington. Executive Director Larry Wright says, "We estimate 240,000 kids in Washington could benefit from a mentor, but fewer than 30,000 have one. A great deal remains to be done for these young people; however, this grant is a significant step towards reducing the mentoring gap in our state."

Grantees include:

Gonzaga University's Center for Community Action and Service Learning (CCASL)
Serving youth in Spokane County
$202,000

Volunteers of America Western Washington
Serving youth in Skagit, Snohomish and Whatcom Counties
$172,856

Big Brothers Big Sisters Columbia Northwest
Serving youth in Washington in Clark, Cowlitz, Skamania and Wahkiakum Counties and two Oregon Counties - Multnomah and Washington
$1,148,900

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Inland Northwest
Serving youth in Spokane County
$457,600

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northwest Washington
Serving youth in Skagit and Whatcom Counties
$217,344

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Puget Sound
Serving youth in Clallam, Jefferson, King, Kitsap and Pierce Counties
$1,000,000

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Snohomish County
Serving youth in Snohomish County
$144,000

An additional set of small grants will be awarded to agencies that serve high-risk youth.

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Press

Check out articles recognizing mentoring throughout the state:

National Mentor of the Year
Press Release, 03/02/2006

Churches focus on serving the young
The Olympian, 01/29/2006

Program extols mentors’ value
The Olympian, 01/26/2006

Mentor Making a Difference
Seattle Times, 01/23/2006

Volunteers make “Big” difference in “Little” lives
Seattle Times, 12/12/2005

Spokane Recognized Nationally
Spokane's Promise, 09/25/2005

Kids Never Forget a Mentor
Department of Social and Health Services

Lt. Governor Brad Owen’s ‘Mentoring for our Future’ speech

Have an article to add? Send a link to info@washingtonmentoring.org.

Recommended Reading:

David Dubois:
Handbook of Youth Mentoring (2005)

Dr. Susan Weinberger:
Mentoring A Movement: My Personal Journey (2005)

Jill Esau:
Start and Grow your Faith-Based Nonprofit: Answering Your Call in the Service of Others (2005)

Jean Rhodes:
Stand by Me : The Risks and Rewards of Mentoring Today's Youth, (The Family and Public Policy) (2004)

A Critical View of Youth Mentoring: New Directions for Youth Development, No. 93 (2002)