Goodwill of the Coastal Empire is seeking positive role models for the GoodGuides Youth Mentoring Program.
Representatives will available at 10 a.m. May 7 the Richmond Hill Goodwill Job Connection Center, 9701 Ford Ave, Suite J, to meet with anyone interested in becoming a mentor.
The GoodGuides program serves youth between the ages of 12 and 17 by helping them build career plans and skills to prepare for school completion, post-secondary training and productive work.
To become a mentor, individuals must be willing to make a one-year commitment to the program, meet with a mentee in person at least once a month and correspond weekly with the mentee via email. A background check will also be required.
The GoodGuides program seeks to improve outcomes for more than 2,640 youth in high-risk situations across the United States.
“The unemployment rate for youth ages 16 to 19 is currently nearly 21 percent, three times the national average for the full working population,” said Jim Gibbons, president and CEO of Goodwill Industries International.
“Goodwill’s GoodGuides program helps to keep these youth on the right path, despite the employment challenges they face. The result is stronger families and better communities.”
The Goodwill GoodGuides program began in 2009 with a $19.1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Juvenile Justice Delinquency and Delinquency Prevention.
Goodwill Industries International dispersed that original grant to 56 independent Goodwill agencies in 38 states around the country.
This new phase of Goodwill GoodGuides is made possible through a $9 million three-year grant from the U.S. Department of Justice.
This will provide for additional training and mentor support, advocacy and teaching roles for mentors, expanded parent engagement and more structured activities at 22 Goodwill agencies around the United States.
To learn more about how Goodwill of the Coastal Empire helps youth, adults and their families prepare for the workforce, visit http://goodwillsavannah.org/mission/goodguidesmentor.