Innovative Mentoring Program Aimed at Connecting Teens
The McKenzie Noelle Wilson Foundation has partnered with Take Stock in Children to create a new online
peer-to-peer tutoring program connecting middle and high school students. The program is called IMPACT,
and stands for Innovative Mentoring Program Aimed at Connecting Teens.
IMPACT originated with The McKenzie Noelle Wilson Foundation's belief that through volunteering and
community involvement, teenagers can recognize their full potential. Through this program, high
school students volunteer to be tutors in the place of adults, as they can relate to their peers
and are more familiar with homework. IMPACT sessions take place online through a webcam and a program called
Blackboard. On this program students can talk and use a virtual blackboard to do
homework and study. Online tutoring also alleviates the issue of teenagers having to find transportation to a tutoring location.
The first year of IMPACT started in the spring of 2012 and has been a tremendous success!
The pilot program is between Bolles High School tutors and Fletcher middle school students.
Once a week, after school, high school volunteers use their computer lab at Bolles to connect
with the middle school students, who utilize the computer lab at McKenzie's
Academic Resource Center (MARC). For more information about MARC, click here. Each group of
students is supervised by an adult sponsor. Positive relationships between students were nurtured and several of the
middle school students saw an increase in their grades right away!
Take Stock in Children is a local nonprofit organization that offers students college scholarships, caring volunteer
mentors and hope for a better life. Their comprehensive services start in middle school, continue through high school
and include their transition into college.
Each middle school student currently enrolled in IMPACT has the opportunity to receive a full college scholarship from
Take Stock in Children if they continue to receive tutoring from an upperclassman and mentoring from an adult, through high school.
For more information about Take Stock in Children, visit www.takestockduval.org
If you are interested in hosting the IMPACT program in your high school, please contact mercede@caregivegrow.org or call (904) 623-8023.
You can make a positive difference in the world by volunteering! We have a special volunteer website that allows you to sign up for volunteer opportunities and track your service hours. Go to McKenize Gives for more information. You only have to be 13-years-old to volunteer for most projects.
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