116 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
Cedar Rapids youth mentoring programs
Many youth mentoring programs in Cedar Rapids are looking for mentors and volunteers.
ACADEMY FOR SCHOLASTIC AND PERSONAL SUCCESS
' Contact: Eric Thompson, director; (319) 360-0409; aspsdirector@gmail.com
' Serves: High School students of color (summer); The Academy Expansion serves students of color in grades 3-5, during the school year.
' Mission: To encourage students toward increased academic achievement through rigorous instruction in the core curriculum, taught from a cultural perspective by teachers who look like them.
' Seeking: Not at this time.
ACHIEVEMENT ACADEMY
' Organization: Jane Boyd Community House
' Contact: Megan Isenberg at (319) 366-0431, Ext. 2608; misenberg@janeboyd.org
' Serves: K-8th graders in the Cedar Rapids School district area.
' Mission: To enhance the academic emotional and social well-being of children and families in our diverse community with programs focused on developing successful and productive adults.
' Seeking: Mentors, youth to mentor.
AMP (ACHIEVING MAXIMUM POTENTIAL)
' Organization: Foundation 2
' Contact: Shelby Holsapple at (319) 368-3376; sholsapple@foundation2.org
' Serves: Youth ages 13-21 who are in or have been involved in foster care, adoption or out-of-home placement.
' Mission: Help foster youth to become independent adults who can successfully educate others about the child welfare system and take an active role in making life better for themselves and others in state care.
' Seeking: Mentors.
BIG BROTHERS BIG SISTERS
' Contact: Kate O'Brien-May at (319) 377-8993 Ext. 118; Kateom@beabigcr.org
' Serves: Youth ages 6-14.
' Mission: Provide children facing adversity with strong, enduring, professionally supported one-to-one relationships that change their lives for the better forever.
' Seeking: Mentors, female youth to mentor.
BUILDING BRIGHT FUTURES
' Organization: Young Parents Network
' Contact: Crystal Hall or Jan Moffitt at (319) 364-8909; chall@youngparentsnetwork.org or Jmoffitt@youngparentsnetwork.org
' Serves: Children aged 0-5 and parents (male and female) aged 12-27. Education and support for families who need life skill building and opportunities to be successful, focus on early literacy as well as healthy life styles for parents and youth.
' Mission: Young Parents Network is committed to building successful families through establishing networks of support and creating opportunities.
' Seeking: Mentors, youth to mentor.
FIRST LEGO LEAGUE JR., FIRST LEGO LEAGUE, FIRST TECH CHALLENGE, FIRST ROBOTICS COMPETITION
' Contact: Andy Marshall at (319) 929-1588; amarshall@firstinspires.org or iafirst.org/contacts
' Serves: Students aged 6-18 who would benefit from STEM project based learning and teamwork experience. All students of all abilities are welcome.
' Mission: To inspire young people to be science and technology leaders, by engaging them in exciting mentor-based programs that build science, engineering, and technology skills, that inspire innovation, and that foster well-rounded life capabilities including self-confidence, communication, and leadership.
' Seeking: Mentors and event volunteers. Free screening and sign up here: https://my.usfirst.org/FIRSTPortal/Login/VIMS_Login.aspx
HENRY DAVISON YOUTH CENTER
' Contact: Ishmael Tureaud at (319) 365-1662; hdyouthcenter.org
' Serves: 7-16 years. All are at-risk youth. Primary focus is teaching high morals, mutual respect, and friendly social interaction.
' Mission: To develop responsible community members and leaders through meaningful and engaging activities.
' Seeking: Mentors, youth to mentor.
KIDS ON COURSE
' Contact: Beth Malicki at (319) 213-6761; bmalicki@kidsoncoursecr.com
' Serves: The year-round program serves about 800 students and their families at Grant, Van Buren and Harrison elementary schools, and at Wilson and Roosevelt middle schools. The summer Kids on Course University program serves 750 students from 15 elementary schools in Cedar Rapids. All summer program students have a reading deficit and the program combines high quality instruction from certified teachers with fun experiences and connections to positive adults.
' Mission: Doing whatever is takes so students achieve their dreams and succeed.
' Seeking: Mentors.
LEADERS BELIEVERS ACHIEVERS
' Organization: LBA Foundation
' Contact: Alphonce O'Bannon at (319) 533-5095; al@lbajourney.org
' Serves: All youth and students 5th grade through college
' Mission: To inspire hope in tomorrow's leaders, believers and achievers
' Seeking: Mentors, youth to mentor.
REDUCING ETHNIC DISPARITIES
' Organization: Cedar Rapids School District and Big Brothers Big Sisters
' Contact: Paul Hayes at (319) 558-3183 or Kate O'Brien-May at (319) 377-8993
' Serves: At-risk youth of color ages 11-14
' Mission: To instill hope and engagement in at-risk youth
' Seeking: Mentors, youth to mentor.
TOGETHER WE ACHIEVE
' Organization: Tanager Place
' Contact: Tonya Hotchkin at (319) 365-9165, Ext. 476; thotchkin@tanagerplace.org
' Serves: Middle school students at Roosevelt Middle School.
' Mission: To improve resiliency and a sense of hope and well-being for at-risk students. To provide a positive support for students while increasing their connection to their school, peers and community in healthy ways.
' Seeking: Mentors.
VOLUNTEER SERVICES PROGRAM
' Organization: Cedar Rapids Community School District
' Contact: Marcia Hughes at (319) 558-2124; mhughes@cr.k12.ia.us
' Serves: K-12 students in the Cedar Rapids Community School District.
' Mission: Enhance education by facilitating the involvement of community resources to support students and staff in their day-to-day mission to provide the best possible educational experience for each student.
' Seeking: Mentors.
WORKPLACE LEARNING CONNECTION
' Organization: Kirkwood Community College
' Contact: Ann Brendes, Laura Kowalski Bliss, or Rochelle Sowers at ann.brendes@kirkwood.edu; Laura.kowalski-bliss@kirkwood.edu; Rochelle.sowers@kirkwood.edu
' Serves: Entering high school juniors through graduating seniors. Primary focus is career exploration and work-based learning experiences as well as developing the student's first network of professional contacts and skill sets.
' Mission: We are connecting today's students to tomorrow's careers through high quality, age appropriate work-based learning opportunities.
' Seeking: Mentors, youth to mentor (Program has set application periods).
' Do you know of other youth mentoring programs in Cedar Rapids? Contact us at (319) 398-8469; jennifer.hemmingsen@thegazette.com
Jeffrey Coder, 13, high-fives his Big Brother Craig Byers, both of Cedar Rapids, after bowling a spare during the national kickoff of Bowl For Kids' Sake at Cedar Rapids Bowling Center on Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2014, in Cedar Rapids. Coder and Byers have been matched for five years. In 2013, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Cedar Rapids & East Central Iowa raised the sixth highest amount nationwide during Bowl For Kids' Sake, an annual fundraising drive for BBBS. (Liz Martin/The Gazette-KCRG)
Henry Davison, of the H.D. Youth Center, 1006 3rd St. SE, Cedar Rapids, takes part at a special assembly in December. There, Isaac Newton Christian Academy students presented Davison with a more than $750 check from their Christmas coin drive. ¬ The special assembly was held Dec. 21. The children brought in their coins during the month of December, to benefit the ongoing programs of the center. In another Christmas service project, the Academy's junior high held a bake sale where they raised over $500 for Heifer International. That money was earmarked to buy a water buffalo, two trios of rabbits, five flocks of chickens and six flocks of ducks for an impoverished third world family.
Matt Cain (center left), mentor and STEM course teacher at West Branch High School, works with high school student Derek Erboe on a robot that was in the championship round of FIRST Robotics Competition during STEM Expo at Sheraton Iowa City in Iowa City, Iowa on Friday, May 9, 2014. The event was organized by Iowa City Area Development. (Justin Wan/The Gazette-KCRG TV9) ¬
Licensed Independent Social Worker and registered play therapist Brianne Guinn interacts with a child during a demonstration of play therapy at Tanager Place in southwest Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on Monday, June 2, 2014. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette-KCRG)
Rockwell Collins engineer Sue Margheim (right) as they build a prosthetic hand during an Introduce a Girl to Engineering event at Rockwell Collins on Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2013, in rural northeast Cedar Rapids, Iowa. This is the twelfth year for the program where female, eighth graders from area schools learn about careers in engineering. Around 100 female, eighth graders, with the help of a Rockwell mentor, build 40 prosthetic hands. This year's hands-on project benefits the Helping Hands project which provides the prosthetic hands to people without access, funds, medical facilities or all the above to obtain a prosthetic hand. (Jim Slosiarek/Gazette-KCRG)
First year med student Peige Zhou introduces Giao Huynh of Iowa City West High School and other attendees to the pulmonary system during the Junior Mini Med School program at the University of Iowa Healthcare held in the Carver School of Medicine Wednesday April 17, 2013. High School students from around the corridor spent the afternoon job-shadowing UI Med Students as part of the Workplace Learning Connection program to develop tomorrow's workforce by career exploration events. (Justin Torner/Freelance)
Cedar Rapids Kennedy junior Kendall Dooley makes a presentation in class in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on Thursday, May 22, 2014. (Justin Wan/The Gazette-KCRG TV9) ¬
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