College Mentors for Kids believes in the power of mentoring. Each year, to celebrate this motto, College Mentors holds the Inspire Awards, held at the J.W. Marriott in Indianapolis on Thursday, February 22nd from 12 to 1:30 p.m. The awards recognize mentors in the workplace and community in seven industry categories. Celebrating mentors: people who have sat down with you over coffee and given advice, challenged you to grow, listened to new ideas, and encouraged you.
The award winners will be honored at a luncheon that attracts more than 500 community leaders. The Inspire Awards are a great way to honor the person who gave you the courage to take a new leap in your career or inspired you to pursue your passions. Nominations are accepted in the following categories: accounting, legal & finance; business, retail & services; construction, engineering & technology; education, government & nonprofit; health & health sciences; marketing, media & athletics; youth mentoring.
To nominate a mentor in your life, click here.
Additionally, College Mentors will honor Jim McClelland as the 2018 Lifetime Achievement Award winner in mentoring. Jim McClelland holds the newly-created position of Executive Director for Drug Prevention, Treatment, and Enforcement for the State of Indiana and was previously with Goodwill Industries where he led many transformative initiatives for the community.
College Mentors for Kids was founded by two Indiana University students who wanted to address the issues facing underserved elementary students. They sought a unique one-on-one mentoring relationship between the children and college students that provided more educational opportunities and experiences.
Believing college students to be a valuable yet untapped resource for children, the friends set out to design a program that would harness the energy, idealism, and resources that college students and a university campus could offer children. With successful pilot programs at Butler University and Indiana University, College Mentors officially opened its doors as a nonprofit in 1997.
Today, we continue to carry on our mission of connecting college students with the most to give to kids who need it most. And after over 20 years of mentorship, College Mentors has served over 28,000 college and elementary students at 33 chapters in nine different states. First through sixth graders attend weekly activities on college campuses where they learn about higher education and careers, culture & diversity and community service.
We are making a difference! Children in the program feel more confident about themselves and are thinking about future careers and higher education while still in elementary school. Our college student mentors are developing a sense of purpose and love for engaging in their community. The strides made at College Mentors last long after children have graduated from the program.
Former little buddy, Celia, recalls her experience in the program during the 2002-2003 school year when she was in the third grade. “What I remember most about my mentor is that she genuinely cared for me and was interested in me. I am the oldest child and I have a younger brother, so she definitely took an older sister role for me. She was someone I looked up to and had fun with.”
Twelve years later, Celia is a senior at the University of Southern Indiana studying Social Work and is a current mentor with College Mentors for Kids-one of the many mentees who have matriculated to college and paid it forward as mentors. To learn more about College Mentors for Kids go to www.collegementors.org.
