In early 2016, UCOP became a partner in Mayor Libby Schaaf’s Oakland Promise Initiative in conjunction with the East Bay College Fund (EBCF) and other organizations. As an active partner in this initiative, UCOP employees have the opportunity to become EBCF mentors. Mentors help EBCF scholarship recipients receive the social and emotional support they need while transitioning to college and during their college careers.

Mayor Libby Schaaf sent the following message to encourage us to become mentors as part of our partnership with the Oakland Promise Initiative:

I hope that by now you have heard of an initiative near and dear to me, the Oakland Promise, a cradle-to-career initiative with the goal of tripling the number of college graduates from Oakland within a decade. This is a bold vision and we’re looking to you, our community, to help us achieve this goal. One of our lead partners in Oakland Promise is the East Bay College Fund, which provides a scholarship linked to critical college support services including an individual mentor for students who are the first in their family to attend college.

Mentoring a young person is one of the most direct, tangible ways to contribute to the future of a student. The Oakland Promise doesn’t just provide scholarships for Oakland’s future college graduates, we provide the support they need to stay in college and earn their degrees—and a mentor is an important part of that support. We need people like you to commit to a minimum of one conversation each month and two retreats per year, an investment of time and attention that has enormous payoff for the scholar you mentor.

Please fill out the application and then attend a brief information session. After, you’ll be matched with an Oakland high school senior with whom you’ll develop a lasting relationship throughout their time at college.

Thank you so much! We look forward to working together as a community to make the Oakland Promise a reality for our youth!

With appreciation,

Mayor Libby Schaaf

If you are interested in this volunteer opportunity, sign up to attend an East Bay College Fund Mentor Information and Interview session on Thursday, April 7 from 6 to 8:30 p.m.

If there is strong interest from UCOP staff, EBCF will also host an information/interview session at the Franklin building. For more information about becoming a mentor and/or to confirm interest, please contact Jill Butler, Director of Constituent Partnerships at Jill.Butler@ucop.edu.

This program is sponsored by the Oakland Partnership Initiative and UCOP Staff Assembly.

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