Mentoring Partnerships Of NY & LI Combine and Announce Significant Expansion Across New York State

NEW YORK - Jan. 7, 2016 - PRLog -- Now in its 22nd year of helping develop and support mentoring programs for over 57,000 young people, the Mentoring Partnerships of New York City and Long Island announce they will combine their organizations and expand their footprint to include most of New York State.  The newly formed, Mentor New York, will grow to support an additional 400 new programs and 8,000 young people over the course of 2016,  with regions including Albany, Rockland County, Buffalo and Rochester as initial key target regions.

“Countless youth across New York are in need of additional caring and attentive adult role models in their lives to help them succeed in life, supporting the parents, grandparents and relatives already trying their best,” said Jean Cohen, Executive Director, Mentor New York.  “Mentor New York is very excited to now offer its free support and technical assistance to organizations and communities across the State, to assist in establishing and strengthening quality mentoring programs.”

Mentor New York will work closely with new target regions to help corporations, institutions, local associations, government agencies and other organizations from different sectors identify appropriate regional mentoring opportunities with established area mentoring partners.  It will also work to deliver training programs to individuals through on-site workshops and webinars and expand its leadership to incorporate new representatives from other New York regions in all areas of community life – schools, higher education, business, government, youth agencies, religious organizations and more.

“Studies show that youth involved in an effective mentoring program go on to graduate high school, form healthier, stronger relationships with parents, their teachers and peers, and experience an overall increase in their self-esteem,” continued Cohen.  “It’s vital to engage and support those neighborhoods where we can make a difference in a youth’s life, and help eliminate chronic absenteeism – the number one cause of high school dropout occurrences.”  According to the America’s Promise Alliance, more than 20% of high school students do not graduate on time and 5.8 million young people between the ages of 16 and 24, are neither in school or employed.

“After three years, it is estimated that Mentor New York will be providing mentoring support, education and tools to communities across most of New York State, covering 80% of the at-risk youths in the state,” said Linda Armyn, Co-Chair of the Leadership Council for Mentor New York and Senior Vice President Corporate Affairs, Bethpage Federal Credit Union. “I am very proud to be working with Mentor New York, a trusted, winning resource for quality mentoring programs, as it expands across the state.  Its proven, positive results will make a great impact for many.”

Mentor New York is the 2016 recipient of the America’s Promise Alliance GradNation grant, naming this year’s upcoming 2016 Mentor New York Conference as the host to the 2016 GradNation Community Summit, with U.S. Senator Steve Israel as the Honorable Chair.  The GradNation campaign was created by the America’s Promise Alliance to help increase graduation rates for youths.  The 2016 GradNation Community Summit organized by Mentor New York, will be held in March on the campus of LIU Post in Brookville, and will include a day of discussion on high school dropout rates and what steps need to be taken to increase graduation rates for young people.  The America’s Promise Alliance was formed in 1997 and headed up by General & Mrs. Colin Powell, to help create successful conditions for all young people to succeed in school and life.

Established in 1992, The Mentoring Partnerships of New York and Long Island, now Mentor New York (MNY), is an affiliate of MENTOR, Inc. MNY helps individuals and groups from different sectors become involved in mentoring opportunities for youth. MNY is a catalyst, linking individuals, organizations, businesses and religious organizations to existing mentoring programs and the young people they serve and helping to create new programs where needed.  Their no-cost services bring evidence-based research into communities to help young people achieve their best.  Currently working with over 400 programs that serve over 57,000 young people, their goal is to create and expand mentoring programs so that every child in New York State who needs or wants a mentor can have one.