iMentor – Tim Kleiman's Donor Drive Page

Dear Friends and Family,

As many of you know, I have volunteered with a great organization called iMentor since the fall of 2006 and now co-chair its Young Executive Board.

iMentor provides a truly unique forum for pairing NYC professionals with ambitious high school students from underserved communities. My first mentee, Andrew, graduated from Bronx Prep in 2008 and now attends the College of the Holy Cross. I'm now affiliated with the iMentor program at the Bronx Academy of Letters and have been paired with Juan, who is now a senior. Juan is a driven, responsible young man with a great sense of integrity. I've learned that he's very concerned about the environment and particularly with the lack of green public spaces in the South Bronx. We've talked about possible careers in law enforcement -- he loves animals, so working with a K-9 unit seems like an interesting idea -- although of course a lot may change between now and graduation day! (And he hates taking pictures so I'm using this group shot...)

I've had a lot of fun getting to know both Juan and Andrew, and I think I've learned a lot from them and from the experience of being a mentor. It's a bit daunting to feel like I was in college yesterday and then suddenly find out that now I'm supposed to be a responsible role-model. But iMentor does a phenomenal job of creating and nurturing these rewarding relationships, and I have no doubt that the city and the world into which these great students will venture are better off for it.

One indication of iMentor's impact is that 92% of eligible mentees graduated from high school after the 2009 program year (compared to New York City’s average graduation rate of 61%), and 82% enrolled in college. Our goal is to grow from 1,200 mentor-mentee pairs to 1,800 in the next academic year – in order to do this we need your help. I know that times are tough for everyone and there has been a great need for humanitarian relief recently - but if you are looking to donate to a worthy cause, here it is.

If you're concerned about the state of education in America, I hope you will consider volunteering your time or making a small donation to iMentor -- an innovative non-profit whose mission directly addresses this critical issue.

Thanks very much for your support!
Tim

http://www.imentor.org