While A²MEND has made an impact on hundreds of lives of African American male college students across California, thousands of Black men in community colleges have not been able to benefit from a mentor simply because of our organization’s limited service capacity.
To address this concern, A²MEND has partnered with MentorAndMatch.com to provide the technology infrastructure for the organization to scale its mentorship program. With this technology infrastructure, A²MEND has expanded its mentorship program and has set a goal to provide a mentor to every African American man enrolled in a California community college. Students will be matched with a mentor in our system based on similar educational and career interests. In addition, A²MEND will provide both mentor and mentee training that ensures that they receive maximum benefits for being a part of this game changing initiative.
Aligned with the California Community College Chancellor’s Office “Vision for Success” as well as the subsequent “Call to Action” in response to institutional racism that was prominently brought into focus by the killing of George Floyd, the A²MEND Statewide African American Men Mentorship Initiative was created with the following outcomes in mind:
- Improve educational outcomes (e.g., educational persistence, graduation or transfer rates) to close and eliminate opportunity gaps.
- Create a greater sense of campus connection and belonging.
- Develop a better understanding of career and academic options.
- Increase knowledge on how to navigate their academic journey.
- Provide additional academic and social support.
If you are interested in encouraging the success of African American male college students, please consider becoming a mentor by visiting here.