Create 25 new Youth Councils throughout New York City.

In contact with current New York City Council Members to discuss providing space and resources for the Youth Council programs.

Provide 100 academic mentors to guide and motivate high school students to graduate and continue on to higher education.

Purpose:

Moving Minds Mentorship hopes to move minds. Academic and personal excellence is about more than just grades, but a mindset that each student is excellent. We want to emphasize and reinforce in student’s minds the connection between academic achievement and professional success. At the high school level we work to help students perform to their full potential, graduate high school on-time, and move towards the path of higher education or advanced specialization in their desired field. At the middle school level we focus on academic excellence and career planning.

Our Mentors:

People in the local community or teachers who have successfully completed the Moving Minds Mentorship Orientation. Our mentors are college students and or professionals in varying fields who want to uplift the youth and push them to strive for academic success and personal greatness. These individuals will be academic mentors to students on a volunteer basis and will commit to meeting with students, one on one, for at least one hour per week at the school their mentee attends for one academic year. Mentors are screened and selected by the Mission Society.
The Program: Each student will have one mentor that they will meet with once a week, at lunch, or after school, for at least one hour to discuss their progress in school, their obstacles to progress, and academic and career interests. Mentors will also be responsible for identifying academic goals and helping students to attain these goals. The mentor will also assist the student in drafting short term and long term plans in order to identify the necessary steps needed to go on to college or begin the careers of their choice. We use a compilation of websites to approach college applications and preparedness as well as drawing on the Transform America College Funding Database. Mentees and mentors meet twice a year as a group in order to provide feedback about the program. Mentors and mentees at each school must plan two service-learning events as a school group to encourage themselves and their schools to strive for academic excellence and work to attend the college of their choice. The program will culminate with a ceremony where mentors and mentees are celebrated and recommit to personal and academic excellence throughout the summer. Transform America will host one summer event in August to remind mentors and mentees about their commitment to excellence. There is no cost to schools, mentors, or mentees.