MetroMentors Youth Mentoring Program Receives $12,500 Grant from The DuPage Community Foundation

MetroMentors youth mentoring program has received a $12,500 grant from The DuPage Community Foundation. The grant was presented at a special breakfast June 10, 2014, at the Glen Oak Country Club in Glen Ellyn. It was one of 22 grants presented to nonprofit organizations as part of the Foundation’s 2014 Spring Community Needs Grant Cycle, which distributed a total of $337,356 in funding.

The MetroMentors program is a partnership between Metropolitan Family Services DuPage and select DuPage elementary and middle schools. It offers professionally supported, one-to-one mentoring right at the schools. Through MetroMentors, caring adults serve as positive role models and help improve a child’s self-esteem, social skills, academic achievement and positive life choices.

Foundation Director of Programs Barb Szczepaniak shared her pleasure with the Foundation’s support of local organizations: “Today is all about celebrating the great work each of you is doing in DuPage County and a celebration of our partnership together. I truly enjoy the grant breakfast every year because it’s such an uplifting occasion–a day to remind us that we are collectively making a difference in our community.”

MetroMentors Program Coordinator Marsha Ndoko acknowledged the commitment the Foundation makes to DuPage community programs: “We are grateful to The DuPage Community Foundation for their generous support of MetroMentors. At-risk children in mentoring programs are significantly less likely to begin using drugs and alcohol, skip school or exhibit aggressive behavior,” said Ndoko. “And just one hour a week is all it takes to make a difference in the lives of children waiting for a mentor match.”

MetroMentors is in need of adult (18 yrs. and older) mentors—especially men—to match with children who are waiting to be paired with a mentor. Businesses and corporations with DuPage offices, as well as local churches and service clubs are invited to partner with the program in offering mentors for a local school. MetroMentors will work with each group and school to tailor a program that works for all involved.Read our blog to hear what one mentor had to say about this enriching experience. For more information about MetroMentors, contact Marsha Ndoko at 630.784.4836.

About Metropolitan Family Services DuPage Center
Metropolitan Family Services DuPage Center has provided support to vulnerable families who have had nowhere to turn, helping them restore balance in their lives since 1930 with services including counseling, youth mentoring and senior respite care. Metropolitan DuPage is part of Metropolitan Family Services, which has been empowering Chicago-area families to reach their greatest potential and positively impact their communities since 1857.

About The DuPage Community Foundation
The DuPage Community Foundation seeks to raise the quality of life throughout DuPage County by fostering philanthropy, connecting donors to area needs and building community partnerships. Based on the American virtues of volunteerism and philanthropy, the Foundation fosters a legacy of support for the people of DuPage County by making grants to not-for-profit organizations working in the areas of arts and culture, education, environment, health, and human services. Since its inception, the Foundation has built its endowment to more than $55 million and awarded more than $18 million in grants to not-for-profit agencies serving the residents of DuPage County and beyond.

Established in 1986, The DuPage Community Foundation is a publicly-supported 501(c)(3) organization to which contributions are tax deductible. It was created to benefit the people of DuPage County and receives contributions and bequests into a permanent endowment from individuals, corporations, organizations and foundations wishing to make lasting contributions to the people of DuPage. The earnings on these funds are then used, in accordance with donor wishes, for the Foundation’s grantmaking and community leadership activities.

Foundation Grant Committee members Mary Kay Kluge (left) and Eileen Trost (far right) are pictured with Theresa Nihill, Executive Director, Metropolitan Family Services DuPage; and Jim Carter, Member of the Metropolitan Family Services DuPage Community Board.