New York State
Mentoring
The New York State Mentoring Program is the nation’s first school-based one-to-one mentoring program. This highly successful program screens and trains volunteers and matches them to children in their communities. Change the life of a child – Become a mentor.
Change the Life of a Child Become a Mentor
The New York State Mentoring Program follows a research-based model of mentoring in which Mentors and Mentees meet one-to-one in a supervised environment at a set time and location. Mentors serve as our partners in schools, courts and the foster care system.
Latina Mentoring Initiative
On October 21, 2021, Latina Equal Pay Day, Governor Hochul announced the launch of the Latina Mentoring Initiative (LMI) to support young Latinas and begin levelling the playing field via mentoring. The New York State Mentoring Program (a program under CCF) in partnership with the Governor’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion and the Office of Women’s Affairs, and Latina government, community and corporate leaders, came together to build LMI for the young Latinas of New York.
Learn More About Mentoring
What does the NYS Mentoring Program Do?
The New York State Mentoring Program is the nation’s first school-based one-to-one mentoring program. This highly successful program screens and trains volunteers and matches them to children in their communities. The New York State Mentoring Program follows a research-based model of mentoring in which Mentors and Mentees meet one-to-one in a supervised environment at a set time and location. Mentors serve as our partners in schools, courts and the foster care system. This format not only allows for the volunteer mentors to properly manage their busy schedules, but also provides much needed consistency to the mentoring relationship.
What are the Benefits of Mentoring
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A Public Private Ventures study shows:
Mentees are 46% less likely to start using illegal drugs than their peers. - Mentees are 52% less likely than their peers to skip a day of school and 37% less likely to skip class.
- Mentees are more trusting of their parents or guardians, and are less likely to lie to them and feel more supported and less criticized by peers.
What does Mentoring Entail?
- Encouraging young people to stay in school, improve attendance, academic achievement, and overall academic focus.
- Inspiring students to make sound decisions and take on higher levels of personal responsibility for their actions at home, in the classroom and in the greater community.
- Helping to instill self-confidence in young people and strengthen their communication and problem solving skills.
- Helping students grow, and attain a greater sense of purpose, enterprise and accomplishment, guiding them toward a brighter future.
How to Become a Mentor
Get involved by filling out the Mentoring Application or call us at 1-518-473-3652. After your application is received, an appointment will be made for you to interview with a mentoring program staff person.
Once you are a trained Mentor, you will be matched with a Mentee at a nearby school or community site and contacted about a start date.
NYS Mentoring Advisory Council
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Honorable Matilda Raffa Cuomo
Founder & Chair Emeritus, New York State Mentoring Program Former First Lady of New York State -
Mitchell J. Auslander
Attorney, Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP -
Judith Beville
Former Regional Director, NYS Mentoring Program
Town Official, Town of Greenburgh, Westchester County -
BJ Carter
National Program Director, Healthy Children Healthy Futures - Don Distasio CEO of American Cancer Society Eastern Division (Ret.) President, Baldwinsville Rotary Club Board Member, NYS Cancer Prevention Council Board Member, NYS Health Research Board Board Member, YMCA
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Susan Murante
Media Consultant -
Terry Paladini-Baumgarten
Economist, International Consultant & Bank Advisor
Former International Banker
Professor, International Relations
Chair, Lions Clubs International – DR2
Founder & former President, NY Financial District Lions Club -
Jim Quail
Superintendent, NYC Public Schools (Ret.)
Educational Consultant -
Pat Reilly
Deputy Commissioner, NYS Department of Motor Vehicles (Ret.) -
Kim Walker, Esq.
Partner, Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer, Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP
Matilda Cuomo
Biography
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Mrs. Cuomo chaired and served as chief spokesperson for the New York State Decade of the Child initiative, co-chaired the Governor’s Commission on Child Care, and chaired the New York State Citizens Task Force on the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect. In addition, Mrs. Cuomo led New York State’s participation in the United Nation’s 1990 World Summit for Children and the U.S. ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. She also traveled to Africa with Harry Belafonte on behalf of UNICEF and was associated with the Day of the African Child since its inception in 1990. In 1994, Mrs. Cuomo was invited to the Republic of Malta by the International Steering Committee of the United Nations to launch the International Year of the Family, and in 1997, she was invited by President Clinton and Colin Powell to participate in the President’s First Summit on Volunteerism. Also in 1997, Family Circle magazine selected Mrs. Cuomo as the Lifetime Achievement winner. She now serves as a lifetime National Assembly Board Member of the National American Cancer Society and as a Board Member of the President’s Council of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City.
Mrs. Cuomo is a graduate of St. John’s University’s Teachers College, and resides in New York City.
In 1984, Mrs. Cuomo chaired the committee that established the nation’s first school-based one-to-one mentoring program. The highly successful New York State Mentoring Program screened and trained volunteers and matched them to children in their communities as a way to prevent high school drop-out. Before the program ended in 1995, it reached more than 10,000 students statewide, connecting thousands of adolescents to a network of highly trained mentors to help them succeed in school, to graduate, and to advance to the workplace as committed, socially responsible citizens.
In his 2015 State of the State address, then Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced New York State’s recommitment to mentoring by reestablishing The New York State Mentoring Program, chaired again by his mother, Mrs. Cuomo. Her leadership will help allow New York to once again lead the way in mentoring children toward successful outcomes with a renewed emphasis on one-to-one mentoring, innovative programming, and ongoing support for the needs of children in our state.
In October 2016, Mrs. Cuomo was awarded the very first Matilda Raffa Cuomo Humanitarian Award at the Midwood High School 75th Jubilee Gala, to not only honor her work with the New York State Mentoring Program, but also her lifelong commitment to helping students succeed and encouraging them to continue their education. Each year going forward, the award will be given to a Midwood High School student who best exemplifies Mrs. Cuomo’s qualities, intellect, and morals, and who uphold the values of perseverance, genuineness, and integrity.
