In a Pew Public/Private Ventures Study of 959 boys and girls with 60% members of a minority group, 60% boys, and 80% from low income households, 487 were matched with mentors and the remaining 472 were the control group with no mentors.
After 18 months with mentors, an evaluation of these children revealed the boys and girls were:
- 46 % less likely to use illegal drugs
- 27% less likely to use alcohol
- 37% less likely to skip class
- 53% less likely to skip school
- 33% less likely to hit someone
Mentoring Works – Jennifer’s Story
Jennifer, a junior in high school, was matched with Marianne as her mentor. Jennifer lived in a single parent home with four siblings. She volunteered for the mentor program because she did not want to follow in the footsteps of her siblings and belong to a local gang. But she wasn’t sure it was avoidable. Marianne and Jennifer became friends and decided they would work at improving Jennifer’s grades – as she was failing some of her courses. After a couple of months her grades were not improving and Marianne visited Jennifer’s home to find that, with kids and adults coming and going, there was no quite place to study and do homework. Marianne invited Jennifer to come to her office after school where she could sit quietly and study. Occasionally Marianne would give a helping hand. Over the next couple of months, Jennifer’s grades improved dramatically and other office workers liked having her around and offered her a part-time job. Here is what Jennifer has to say about mentoring with Marianne: “…My mentor has done so much for me and I don’t know where I would be without her. Now I have a 3.83 GPA (one B in Math, we’re still working on that one). It seems like now, things are really starting to come together. I’m not nearly as confused as I was before. I’m well on my way to being the first person in my family to graduate from college.”
Mentoring is an integral part of the program at Boys Hope Girls Hope of Colorado. We sincerely thank all of the mentors that are helping make a difference in the lives of our scholars!