The clocks aren’t the only thing springing forward, things are moving and shaking here at BBBSNH! We have been busy making new matches, growing our team and gearing up to launch our newest program, Mentor 2.0.

Mentor 2.0 is a technology-enhanced one-to-one mentoring program that provides transformative support to low-income, first-generation high school students. Following a cohort model, BBBSNH will match volunteer mentors with high school students and work with them through weekly online communication and monthly in-person meetings based on a curriculum developed by NYC-based, iMentor. As an addition to our evidenced-based mentoring model, Mentor 2.0 will allow our organization to help bridge the gap for youth in our program seeking to expand their college and career pathways, even after they have aged out of our program. Students will work alongside their mentor to build stronger soft skills, leadership, professionalism, perseverance and more.

Manchester will be the starting point for this project, which is also, where BBBS originally got its start in NH back in 1966! Currently, over 10,000 students are participating in this program across the country, including several other BBBS affiliates. Statistics show 97% of these students completed college applications, 88% expect to earn a college degree, 93% say that their mentor is someone that they trust and depend on, 75% will enroll in college and 83% of them will persist onto their sophomore year (versus their peers whose chances are 50%).

We are grateful to be in such an exciting period of growth. Building upon our strategic goals like, creating more quality, mentoring matches and better communicating our story. These goals have been critical to our perseverance throughout the pandemic. Recent highlights include, an article published in the Union Leader focusing on our need for more “Men in Mentoring,” a new Billboard Campaign up and running in Manchester and Derry and several PSA’s thanks to generous media partners.

This growth would not be possible without you, our village. Your unwavering support of our mission continues to make a life-changing impact on youth across New Hampshire. We look forward to all that is to come. Stay tuned!

Happy spring,

Stacy W. Kramer, CEO