Focus Area: Youth Development
Grant Amount: $7,500
Located in Duluth. Mentor North was established in 2019 when it took over from a now-ended YWCA youth-based mentoring program. Mentor North offers one-on-one mentorship and community engagement. Mentor North is based in the Damiano Center, a full-service social service center in a low-income neighborhood of Duluth, and Damiano will help provide wrap-around services for the youth if they need it. It works closely with 2 area schools and has relationships with school counselors who help provide support to the youth.
Grant supports a mentoring program focused on supporting 350 5-17-year-olds to meet their social, emotional, and academic needs. Each youth will be matched with an adult to help focus on a positive growth mindset, develop healthier attitudes towards academics, and encourage the young person’s natural talents and strengths. The goal is to match each mentee with a mentor from their own background, often college students from local colleges. Mentor North will also add a new recruitment and volunteer coordinator position, to increase reach into the community.