Since 1987, our mission at Mentors Inc. has been to increase the graduation rates and success of students enrolled in Washington, D.C’s public and charter high schools by pairing them with caring adult volunteers in structured and enriched mentoring relationships that promote their personal, academic and career development.
Since the beginning, the program has expanded access and opportunity for over 4,000 youth by matching them with caring adult mentors. Today, we are the only open-enrollment citywide, one-on-one mentoring program for youth enrolled in D.C. public and charter high schools. At least 90% of our 12th graders graduate compared to approximately 60% of their peers; and at least 85% of our graduates enroll in post-secondary education compared to less than 29% of their peers, or less than 5% from the most under-resourced wards of the city.
With the admission requirement for public and charter high school students being motivation, rather than GPA or even readiness to succeed in college, the graduation success statistics give our city a lot to cheer about.
We recruit volunteer mentors to match with teens year round; recruit other volunteers to build our recruitment, administrative, fundraising, and social networking capacity; and accept nominations for board members that can connect the organization with opportunities year round as well.
Our teens succeed because there are adults who care. Start your mentoring journey with a teen today!