MENTOR Announces the 2022 National Corporate Mentoring Honor Roll
Largest-Ever Recognition of Corporations Across the Country Dedicating Outstanding Support for the Youth Mentoring Movement
BOSTON, February 22, 2022 /3BL Media/ - MENTOR, the unifying champion for the mentoring movement, released its 2022 National Corporate Mentoring Honor Roll today, a list recognizing corporations across the United States for the depth and breadth of their commitment to ensuring our young people have the quality mentoring opportunities needed for their personal and professional growth. The Honor Roll was first launched by First Lady Michelle Obama in 2011 as a challenge to companies to encourage their employees to become volunteer youth mentors. In the decade since, corporate engagement in youth mentoring has grown to reflect a broad range of innovations and strategies that help drive equity, connect young people to social and economic opportunities, and ultimately build a diverse, dynamic, and inclusive 21st century workforce.
“Companies play such an important role in advancing support and opportunity for young people. The more than 75 National Corporate Mentoring Honor Roll companies are trailblazing employers who seek to create a culture of mentoring within their companies and the broader community. Their examples through strategic investments of time and money drive returns not only in the business but in the larger society where their people live and work,” said MENTOR CEO David Shapiro. “With such widespread commitment to mentoring from business, our young people will not only gain outstanding exposure to possible careers, they will also be seen, heard, and connected, which will ultimately lead to increased recruitment, retention, and diverse talent across all sectors of our economy.”
This year’s Honor Roll companies have collectively have invested tens of millions of dollars and engaged hundreds of thousands of employees in youth mentoring initiatives. Some companies, such as BOA Technology and WillowTree, partner with local nonprofits to offer internships or engage employee volunteers in short- or long-term mentoring opportunities. Others, like EY and JPMorgan Chase & Co., help fill skills or service gaps by placing executives as volunteers in mentoring programs. Nearly all of the Honor Roll companies implement multi-faceted strategies and partner with the education and nonprofit sectors in diverse and creative ways to advance critical connections and supportive relationships for young people.
Barb Short, Director of Corporate Social Responsibility at Sanofi US, said, “At Sanofi, we believe that everyone deserves the opportunity to thrive: to be healthy, to be an innovator, and to be part of a flourishing community. We’re proud to be on the National Corporate Mentoring Honor Roll and we’re grateful for our partnership with MENTOR, which helps each of us to do our part to increase opportunity for youth with their vision and voice at the center. A world in their hands, where they’re empowered to bring their best talent and contribution, is a world where we all thrive.” Sanofi US is a new Honor Roll member in the last two years, along with ten other companies, including Hyatt Hotels Corporation.
Hyatt’s Director of Corporate Social Responsibility Jessica Schultz shared, “Hyatt is passionate about creating a culture of opportunity to help people thrive in their careers. True to our company’s purpose – we care for people so they can be their best – we believe mentoring is key to an employee’s success. Through our RiseHY program, Hyatt and Hyatt hotels have made the commitment to hire 10,000 Opportunity Youth by 2025 to provide meaningful workplace mentoring experiences to as many of these Opportunity Youth as possible. This work has helped inspire us to join the National Corporate Mentoring Honor Roll.”
Honor Roll companies prioritize mentoring as a key strategy to connecting youth to social and economic opportunities and as part of the life cycle of building and retaining a strong workforce. By driving highly skilled, professional volunteer mentors to mentoring programs, the corporate sector is helping to close the mentoring gap and provide young people with social capital needed to succeed at home, school, and work. According to MENTOR’s research, employees who work for a company that cares about mentoring are happier with their jobs and career and think highly of their employer’s decision to step up for youth in the community. This engagement builds a culture of mentoring in a company that can extend to the professional development employees receive and the values that are expressed every day in their workplace. MENTOR works with employers on strategy, design, and training to ensure relationship-centered workplaces form and reach business and community objectives.
Charline Alexandre-Joseph, MENTOR’s Director of Workforce Development, explained the amplifying effects of corporate mentoring: “Simply put, when America’s businesses invest their people and their resources in youth mentoring, the result is trifold: businesses, communities, and young people all benefit.”
2022 National Mentoring Honor Roll Companies:
Casa Grande Interactive Communications Inc.
Certilman Balin Adler & Hyman, LLP
United Technologies Corporation
ABOUT MENTOR
MENTOR is the unifying champion for expanding the quality and quantity of mentoring relationships across the United States. 30 years ago, MENTOR was created to expand opportunities for young people by building a youth mentoring field and movement. The result: a more than 10-fold increase in young people in structured mentoring relationships. Today, MENTOR is the expert voice representing a movement that meets young people everywhere they are – from schools, to workplaces, and beyond. MENTOR operates in collaboration with 24 local Affiliates across the country. For more information, visit mentoring.org.
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