About the Awards to be Presented
The 2021 scholarship and award recipients will be presented at the event on October 5th!
In the meantime, get to know the 2020 winners and what these awards are all about:
ALKU Scholarship
Created in 2015 by ALKU CEO and MMP Board Member Mark Eldridge, the ALKU Scholarship is a $30,000 college scholarship for rising high school seniors. Through Mark's leadership and generosity, the scholarship provides youth the opportunity to apply for financial support to achieve their full potential as they pursue their college careers.
By providing financial resources, ALKU and MMP together aim to build the capacity of organizations to connect youth to a broader web of support, build on the opportunities their existing mentoring relationships have offered them and help eliminate any barriers to future academic, economic, or social success.
Meet Nellcie Bodden: The 2020 ALKU Scholarship Winner
Nellcie Bodden is a senior at City on a Hill in Roxbury. Bodden was matched with two mentors from the Minds Matter Boston program, both attorneys who encouraged Bodden's interest in social justice. Bodden stated "Today's society is not structured to benefit everyone equally. That is why I want to be a voice advocating for those who do not have a chance to speak up." Bodden intends to use the scholarship to pursue a degree in psychology or political science. She is featured in a conversation with ALKU CEO and MMP Board Member Mark Eldridge discussing mentoring and the ALKU Scholarship.
KELLY Award
Mass Mentoring Partnership (MMP) is pleased to announce the annual KELLY Award (Keep Encouraging Lifelong Learning for Youth), an educational award supported by MMP, the Kelly Family Foundation, and Liberty Mutual.
Established in 2007 and named in honor of Debbie and Ted Kelly, the award provides educational support to young people of any age who are in empowering youth-adult relationships and have overcome adversity. As President and CEO of Liberty Mutual and a former MMP Board Chair, Ted helped significantly grow and improve the landscape of quality youth mentoring in Massachusetts and beyond. The Kelly family continues to be generous supporters of empowering youth-adult relationships.
The KELLY Award is an educational gift of $20,000 that will be awarded to a young person, nominated by a positive adult role model (i.e. mentor, after school program leader, volunteer, teacher, etc.) in her or his life. The award is payable over four years and will support educational pursuits. Past KELLY award winners have used their awards to pay for college tuition, tutoring, or other expenses such as books, computer software or hardware, etc.
Meet DaShawn Borden: The 2020 KELLY Award Winner
James G. Connolly Tribute Fund Award
Named in honor of Mass Mentoring Partnership's late Board Chair, Jim Connolly, the tribute fund honors his memory and dedication to mentoring. The fund supports an annual gift or project that is aligned with our mission of fueling the youth mentoring movement across Massachusetts, and Jim's volunteer leadership and service to the organization. A competitive RFP is typically released each spring or summer, and interested applicants should check this page around that time.
Jim embodied, symbolized, and believed in the power of mentoring. Through the creation of the MMP Board Designated James G. Connolly Tribute Fund, we will honor his memory and advance youth mentoring as a tribute to his character and dedication to mentoring.
With a grant from the 2021 -2022 Connolly Fund, MMP will provide up to three awards totaling $20,000, to formal structured mentoring programs to expand or enhance practices to increase mentor diversity and effectiveness through culturally responsiveness mentoring practices.
Meet Y.O.U. Boston: The 2020 Connolly Tribute Fund Award Winner