Hello Participants and Alumni,

I met with Graham Covington at Minds Matter of Portland recently and he is looking for mentors. I felt like this might be a good fit for some of you so if you are interested, their contact information is below.

Young Professionals Needed to Make College a Reality for Portland Area’s Bright, Motivated, Financially-Disadvantaged High School Students

Portland’s Minds Matter students are studying at schools like Columbia University, Georgetown University, Smith College, and Dartmouth’s Rassias School in France. With graduation from these prestigious summer programs, these talented Portland Public School sophomores, juniors, and seniors have a strong shot at acceptance into top notch colleges and universities. They’ll owe their journeys (and their futures) to the dedicated college graduates and Portland area professionals who served as their mentors at Minds Matter. We are proud to refer you to our most recent newsletter, which highlights Minds Matter of Portland, Inc.’s first graduating senior class, and the colleges to which they are headed.

Going into its fourth year, Minds Matter continues to seek young, college educated Portland professionals to mentor bright, financially disadvantaged high school students who will gain the life skills and experiences needed to be accepted into competitive summer prep programs and colleges. Each student is matched with two mentors, who meet with the student on Saturdays during the school year from 12:30 pm to 2:30 pm at Self Enhancement, Inc.

Minds Matter of Portland, Inc. starts its 2009-2010 school year with 52 students from 16 different high schools from the Portland Metropolitan area. All of these students competed for consideration and were recommended to Minds Matter by their counselors and teachers. These students need your assistance and perspective to leverage their potential and expand their horizons.

Whether it’s helping students prepare for the SATs, attending a West Side Story performance at Portland Center Stage or dropping a mentee off at the airport on his or her way to a summer college program at Smith, Columbia, UC Berkeley, Stanford, Minds Matter mentors are changing the lives of Portland’s high school students, while truly enhancing their own.

To become a mentor, please contact us for an application via email at turid.owren@tonkon.com or Melissa Swenson at Melissa.Swenson@pgn.com (All mentors must pass a background check.). For more information on Minds Matter, please visit www.mindsmatter.org/portland, or contact Minds Matter’s Executive Director, Graham Covington, at Portland@mindsmatter.org, 503-201-7325.