Siena College Mentoring Program

The OJJDP FY 09 Earmarks Programs further the Department's mission by providing grants, cooperative agreements, and other assistance authorized by the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974, as amended, to organizations identified in the Explanatory Statement Regarding H.R. 1105 (Omnibus Appropriations Act, 2009), 155 Cong. Rec. H1653 (daily ed. Feb. 23, 2009) (statement by Rep. Obey, Chairman of the Committee on Appropriations of the House).

The Siena College Mentoring Program's purpose is to offer Siena students the opportunity to work closely with at-risk youth from disadvantaged and marginalized communities through reflection and academic study of the complex reality of poverty in the world today. The Siena College Mentoring Program is a worthwhile experience that matches Siena students with urban at-risk youth and gives each an opportunity to learn from one another. The Mentoring Program helps prepare Siena students to advocate on behalf of the marginalized, prepare them for effective work among the poor, and teach them how to be agents of social change. The participants of the Mentoring Program are not only building long life friendships with Siena students, but are receiving exposure to college life through joint programs that are administered with faculty from the Schools of Science, Liberal Arts, and Business. Selected at-risk youth will also participate in activities and events sponsored via Siena's Center for Urban Education which promotes programs that contribute to positive developmental outcomes for urban youth. NCA/NCF