Mass Mentoring Partnership Advocacy Day

A few weeks ago, Coaching 4 Change mentors and staff joined hundreds of others at the State House for Mass Mentoring Advocacy Day on March 22, 2023. We met with legislators to raise awareness of the importance of mentoring, especially significant now as schools and children continue to struggle with the aftereffects of the pandemic. We were there to assert our rights as citizens, and we lobbied for increased spending for all kinds of mentoring in the state budget. Organized by Mass Mentoring Partnership, the advocacy day was an amazing event of strength, and it was amazing to see this kind of grassroots democracy in action.

It's easy to think of state government officials as anonymous bureaucrats who care little about issues such as mentoring. That is not what we found. Meeting our legislators in person allowed us to see them as caring individuals and for them to see us as serious partners. Meeting each other made us all human, even if our time was limited. It was heartening to see how much our elected officials care for their constituents and want to know how they can help. It also made me realize how we can help them help us by outlining our challenges and coming up with reasonable asks that they can support. State Senator Michael Rodrigues and State Representative Carole Fiola have full calendars, yet they took the time to meet with us and hear about our program bringing diverse college mentors into under-resourced middle and other schools with high populations of communities of color. Our mentors support teachers and connect with students in ways that encourage attendance, bolster mental health, and boost academics. Our representatives learned about the different shapes and sizes of mentoring programs throughout the state—for the homeless, for young folks trying to learn a trade, and for schoolchildren such as those served in Coaching 4 Change’s programs throughout Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

For the first time since the pandemic began, the advocacy day was held in person, and youth leaders came to speak about the importance of mentoring in their lives and in the lives of those they mentor. More than 1,000 children are on waiting lists to be part of mentoring programs. Mass Mentoring Partnership is asking for a $300,000 increase in mentoring funds in the state budget, which would move us in the right direction to support more children. For more information about adding your voice to this request, visit Mass Mentoring.