Shepherds, a non-profit based in Bridgeport, has supported the education and success of inner-city teens from the New Haven and Bridgeport areas for 20 years. During National Mentoring Month, Shepherds students will celebrate the role that mentors play in their lives with a Mentor Appreciation Night at Notre Dame West Haven High School. Mentors make a monthly commitment of time and energy to an individual student and receive professional training and extensive staff support throughout their four-year commitment.
Results over 20 years have demonstrated that Shepherds students have a much higher likelihood of graduating from high school, pursuing higher education, breaking the cycle of poverty and becoming productive members of society. Since 1998, 265 students who might otherwise have dropped out of high school have graduated and gone on to institutions of higher learning, military or civil service roles.
Shepherds is committed to helping these students achieve their potential through a high quality, college preparatory curriculum, go on to higher education, and eventually become valuable and productive members of society. Fifteen adult mentors are needed for students beginning high school in September of 2019.
Financial sponsors are always needed to help to defray tuition costs and provide additional supports and services throughout the school year including test prep and remedial supports. If you are open to making a valuable impact on a young person’s life and reaping the personal rewards that come with it, please contact Dan McAuliffe, Shepherds’ Executive Director, by April 15th. You can reach Dan by email dmcauliffe@shepherdsmentors.org or call him at 203-367-4273.