Mission Statement
The Mentors Project of Bibb County's Mission Statement
The Mentors Project of Bibb County's Mission is to provide role models for encouragement, and motivation to eligible Bibb County Public Middle and High School students, who need additional support outside their family and to assist them in reaching their full academic, social, and personal potential.
The objectives of the Mentors Project include:
*Reduce the dropout rate in Bibb County Public School
*Improve the students' academic performance.
*Help students consider post high school options.
*Positively affect the students' behaviors and attitudes.
*Enhance the students' self-confidence and self-awareness.
Description
The Education Committee of the Greater Macon Chamber of Commerce initiated the Mentors Project in 1990 and it is now a separate, nonprofit agency governed by a board of directors. The pilot program began at Southeast High School. Over the past few years the program has grown from a handful of mentors in one school to more than 250 in fourteen schools.
Mentors spend a minimum of four hours per month with a Bibb County public middle or high school student to encourage and motivate their protege to reach their full potential. Mentors also expose their proteges to positive activities they might not otherwise experience, as well as steer them away from negative peer pressures.
The need for this program in our community is great. Thirty-six percent of freshmen in the Bibb County public schools do not graduate with their class due to dropping out or falling behind.
The Mentors Project has been successful in steering students away from drugs, crime, and dropping out of school. In addition, students mention that mentors have helped them to control their temper, get along better with family members and teachers, and improve their social skills, grooming habits, and overall outlook on the future. Hopelessness, low self-esteem, and despair are replaced with hopefulness and a desire for a better future. Nearly 100 percent of the proteges who graduate from high school with an active mentor will attend a post secondary institution and become productive members of the community.
