Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Boston Mayor Walsh Helps BNY Mellon’s YouthLeaders Program Celebrate 20th Anniversary

Mayor Martin Walsh and Police Commissioner William Evans to attend celebration on September 9; program for local youth boasts 99% high school graduation rate, with 90% attending college
Sep 8, 2014 9:15 AM ET
Campaign: BNY Mellon: Invested in Our World

BOSTON, September 8, 2014 /3BL Media/ – BNY Mellon will be joined by Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh, Boston Police Commissioner William Evans and more than 80 business and non-profit leaders on September 9 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the BNY Mellon YouthLeaders program.

Funded by the Arthur F. Blanchard Trust*, BNY Mellon YouthLeaders is an apprenticeship program that provides meaningful work experiences to Boston teenagers from low-to-moderate income communities, along with highly individualized support to help them graduate from high school and enter college.

Since BNY Mellon YouthLeaders launched in 1994, it has built impressive metrics:

  • More than 370 youth have participated in the program and learned life and work skills;
  • 99% of program participants have graduated from high school;
  • 90% of the program’s graduates have attended college;
  • More than $8 million has been invested in the program; and
  • 149 teens have received more than $520,000 in scholarships for college.

Every three years, the company selects a group of community partners who are then responsible for hiring students to join the BNY Mellon YouthLeaders cohort. Because partners receive funding for three years, they are able to offer youth substantial paid, part-time work with broad organizational and personal goals, instead of the temporary jobs usually available to teens. BNY Mellon also holds several workshops a year that cover a broad range of topics, such as time management, budgeting, conflict resolution, public speaking and goal-setting.  

Throughout the program’s history, BNY Mellon has partnered with some of Boston’s most respected institutions, including the New England Aquarium, Boston Children’s Museum, Malden YMCA and the Mass Audubon’s Boston Nature Center. “For the past twelve years, BNY Mellon’s YouthLeaders program has been a highlight at the Mass Audubon’s Boston Nature Center and has been transformative for the youth working with us,” said Julie Brandlen, Director of the Mass Audubon’s Boston Nature Center. “Through the program, teens develop the confidence and motivation they need to envision themselves as future leaders, as well as the skills to become valued employees. We’re proud we’ve been able to partner with BNY Mellon and help make that happen.”

“BNY Mellon YouthLeaders has made a big impact on the teens in our program, and the numbers tell that story beautifully,” said Joanne Jaxtimer, BNY Mellon Regional Executive. “The fact that almost all of our participants have graduated from high school and 90% of them attend college proves that our strategy of providing highly personalized attention to our youth works.”

BNY Mellon partners with nonprofits to improve the social and economic conditions where it does business and in the communities where its employees live and work. Learn more about the company’s world-wide commitment to social responsibility at www.bnymellon.com/csr.

BNY Mellon is a global investments company dedicated to helping its clients manage and service their financial assets throughout the investment lifecycle. Whether providing financial services for institutions, corporations or individual investors, BNY Mellon delivers informed investment management and investment services in 35 countries and more than 100 markets. As of June 30, 2014, BNY Mellon had $28.5 trillion in assets under custody and/or administration, and $1.6 trillion in assets under management. BNY Mellon can act as a single point of contact for clients looking to create, trade, hold, manage, service, distribute or restructure investments. BNY Mellon is the corporate brand of The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation (NYSE: BK). Additional information is available on www.bnymellon.com, or follow us on Twitter @BNYMellon.

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*Established in 1953 to benefit the people of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the Arthur F. Blanchard Trust provides generous funding to many organizations and is trusteed by BNY Mellon, N.A. YouthLeaders is the Arthur F. Blanchard Trust’s signature program.