About Us

MENTOR Maryland | DC is the statewide affiliate of MENTOR: The National Mentoring Partnership in Maryland. Our shared mission is to increase both the quality and quantity of mentoring relationships. This is accomplished through support to on-the-ground mentoring programs to improve their quality, effectiveness and scale, while coalescing stakeholders to expand engagement and investment locally.

MENTOR Maryland | DC serves as the catalyst and leader for quality mentoring in Baltimore and in Maryland and are uniquely positioned to work with local organizations to increase their capacity, effectiveness and provide relevant and customized evidence-based training, technical assistance and support. We are intent on making progress towards closing the mentoring gap and ensuring that all mentoring relationships in Baltimore and throughout Maryland are safe and effective.

The need for our work is clear. Mentoring, at its core, guarantees to young people that there is someone who cares about them, assures them they are not alone in dealing with day-to-day challenges, and makes them feel like they matter. Research of programs with strong youth outcomes has shown that the consistent use of quality standards and training for youth workers are key to delivering the high quality programs that all youth need and deserve. 

Young people who were at-risk for falling off track but had a mentor are:

• 55% more likely to enroll in college
• 52% less likely than their peers to skip a day of school
• 78% more likely to volunteer regularly in their communities
• 90% more interested in becoming a mentor
• 46% less likely than their peers to use illegal drugs
• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention lists mentoring as one of four strategies that holds the most promise for youth violence prevention

Despite these critically important documented benefits, finding quality mentors for our young people is a tremendous challenge. Young people can only access mentoring where programs are available and have the capacity to accommodate additional youth. This challenge only increases when steps are taken to ensure mentoring program practices meet quality standards that are safe and effective, including recruiting mentors and mentees, training them, matching and supporting them and consistently evaluating and refining efforts. Programs need to have both the capacity and ability to understand and apply best practices to effectively deliver mentoring services that positively impact youth.

This role of unifying hub and clearinghouse is one that MENTOR Maryland | DC will serve to ensure resources and best practices are available to those organizations serving our most vulnerable young people!