Grantees

Mentoring program for elementary school students.

The Milton Community Youth Coalition is a prevention based organization serving the youth and families of Milton. At the core of our youth empowerment initiatives is our youth mentoring program, Milton Mentors. As we emerge from the pandemic, we believe youth mentorship has a critical role to play in supporting youth, fostering resilience and creating the social connections imperative for healthy youth and adolescent development. We are promoting greater access to youth mentorship in Milton through expansion of our community based program and peer based E-Mentoring programming and the addition of new E-Mentoring and STEM based programming opportunities for youth and adult volunteers.

Provide enriching mentoring opportunities between youth and adults in the Milton community that support children and provide assets for them to lead happy and successful lives.

This grant will fund the expansion of Milton Mentors, to include a cross-age peer mentoring component between Milton High School Students (grades 10-12) and Milton Elementary School Students (grades 3-5).

Data shows that Milton youth need greater community support. Milton Town School District (MTSD) reports describe bullying around issues of racial and gender identity. MCYC is working to improve this problem. The peer-to-peer mentoring program will expand youth mentoring opportunities in the community and build relationships that improve youth resilience, social connection and enhance social and emotional competence. MTSD educators have been informally pairing elementary age students with Juniors and Seniors over the past few years. This program is a formalized, evidence-based program in which high school students are matched with elementary students in mentoring relationships that meet weekly during the school year.

A mentoring program.

New Circle provides one-on-one mentoring services to Vermont children from primary school through high school who have one or more parent/s who are incarcerated or who have a history of incarceration. Mentors are carefully recruited, trained, and matched with mentees, and each match is supervised by a Clinical Director, a retired school counselor with decades of experience. This is a long-term program, with a three-to-five-year minimum commitment by both mentors and mentees. New Circle's goal is to support these children academically, psychologically, and emotionally so they can be successful in school and graduate from high school ready to pursue higher education or career training.

The Foster Grandparent Program is a unique school-based volunteer program for individuals 55 and older. Foster Grandparent volunteers serve as tutors, mentors, and friends to children. They visit preschools and K-12 schools, working one-on-one or in small groups with children with exceptional needs. Foster Grandparent volunteers contribute crucial educational, social, and emotional support that helps children to reach their full potential. Engaging program participants in effective, high-quality trainings—which allow them to be helpful and respond to the needs of the children they serve—will allow us to extend the program throughout the Northwest region to support more children.