2012-13 Mentoring Update, 9/29-10/6

The West Side Program kicked off on Saturday, September 29th at the Major Adams Center (125 N. Hoyne). The orientation session covered goal-setting, a discussion of the curriculum and activities with parents, and ice-breaking exercises for the young men. On the South Side, over the last two weeks, we have been preparing the students for this weekend's College Scholarship Fair, as well as goal-setting and planning for the 2012-13 cycle.  The goals and actions plans center around academic and personal goals, and we'll use the metrics that come out of these exercises to measure our effectiveness as a chapter, and identify developmental areas for the mentees. In the West Suburbs, our volunteers and mentors met to prepare for the re-launch of that program, which will be at the Quad County Urban League at 1685 N. Farnsworth in Aurora, starting on October 20th.  We've had a lot of enthusiasm around the re-launch, from the number mentors, to the number of prospective students, to the schools and other partners/community organizations that are assisting in our newest endeavor. As we approach Election Day, the topics will center around lessons in civics and politics, before we launch our new S.T.E.M. initiative (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math). There is STILL time to register for the College Scholarship Fair (www.100bmc.org), Saturday, October 13th from 9AM-2PM at UIC.  We hope to see everyone, as we help make the dreams of our students come true.