Nonprofit Collaboration of the Year – Finalist
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metro Milwaukee
788 N. Jefferson St., Ste. 600, Milwaukee
In 2014, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metro Milwaukee teamed up with Veritas High School, a charter school in Milwaukee, to ensure low-income, first-generation college students are better prepared to succeed in college.
Mentor2.0 is a technology-enriched, one-to-one mentoring program that focuses specifically on the development of knowledge and skills needed to not only successfully graduate high school, but also to matriculate into college.
“High school graduation is not the only outcome we’re looking for; that’s only the start,” said Sherry Tolkan, principal at Veritas High School. “These students have so much potential and Veritas can’t do it all. Mentor2.0 is the missing link.”
The program matches high school freshmen with college-educated, career-focused mentors from Milwaukee-area corporations like Ernst & Young, GE Healthcare, Kohl’s Corp., Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co. and others. Relationships continue through the students’ first year of college.
By the 2017-’18 academic year, mentor2.0 will serve students from all four grade levels and every student attending Veritas High School will have a college-educated mentor to help guide his or her academic success.
