In March of 2020, pandemic closure severely limited recruitment of mentor applicants. The next few years are critical to rebuilding our mentor force since restoring recruitment levels will impact mentoring for the next decade.

Nowhere does mentoring have a greater impact than among youth who face challenges posed by poverty. 70% of the 1,232 Lincoln TeamMates youth we served last year experienced moderate to very high poverty. Because poverty disproportionately impacts youth of color, we  find that more than half of matched and waiting youth in our program are youth of color.

Together, TeamMates mentors and youth forge meaningful, nonfamilial relationships that help lessen the effects of poverty and trauma, an impact that confirmed by national mentoring organizations and the Center for Disease Control. These relationships between caring adults and youth enhance mental wellness and provide youth with unconditional human connection. Common outcomes such as improved coping skills, increased self-esteem and pro-social behavior motivate many mentors to accompany youth through high school graduation. Graduates in our program are 78% more likely than their non-mentored peers to become community volunteers as young adults.

A focus on strengths empowers TeamMates youth, resulting in:

   - graduation rates higher than local and state averages

   - fewer disciplinary events at school

   - improved academic performance

   - more consistent attendance

The findings of the Lincoln Youth Mentoring Coalition's State of Mentoring Report will guide our use of funds from The Big Give, presented by UBT. As a founding member of the Coalition that facilitates more than 70% of mentoring matches in Lincoln, we know the need for adult mentors in Lincoln exceeds the volunteers who have applied by nearly 1,000, particularly mentors of color and male mentors. So, Lincoln TeamMates will maintain and fund the website for the Lincoln Youth Mentoring Coalition over the next three years and provide leadership of the Coalition during the 2022-23 school year to ensure coordinated annual recruitment, monthly training and partnering among all Coalition members.