YSP is a model mentoring program that consistently ranks at and above national mentoring standards. In order to foster strong relationships, our mentors are asked to make a full year commitment to the program, and mentor-mentee pairs meet for three hours each week. Ninety six percent of our matches last for the entire year or more. These rigorous standards place YSP as one of the top performing mentoring programs in the nation.

Question: What do you like most about your mentor?
* She challenges me in life.
* His honesty is the thing I like most about my mentor.
* She is an active and outgoing cook. I like that about her.
* She helps me with my homework and she's fun to be around.
* She's responsible and hasn't missed a meeting or been late for a meeting with me.
* He's willing to listen to me.
* Working with him makes my day.
* She is always so proud of me when I achieve things.
* He takes me places, plays basketball with me, talks to me, and helps me with my homework.

Question: What's your favorite part about YSP?
* The people are so nice!
* Being able to have the chance to have a mentor and going to the CATS events.
* That I get to hang out with somebody that is in college.
* I like that they take a lot of responsibility and are nice.
* The events were explosive.

"This program has been amazing for my son. His mentor is on-point, reliable, good for him and doesn't let him get away with anything. As a result of his mentor, my son has gone from a C/D student to an A/B student. I cried when I saw his report card. His mentor is a part of our family." -YSP Mom

"What you all did for my daughters and when we ended up in a homeless shelter cannot be put into words. You are all angels." -YSP Mom

"I can't thank you enough for having the end of the year celebration. We felt like stars. The Oscar theme was amazing, and it was such a classy event. We feel blessed to be a part of this program. I want to thank you for having a program like this." -YSP Mom

“My mentee and I started out doing some typical guy things—basketball, football, watching movies. Now we talk physics, chemistry, and modern history. We’ve been to an air show, visited the Cal Academy of Sciences, and built a Coca-Cola rocket. We’ve discovered a shared passion for how things work. It’s a pleasure to share my life with him and to share in his joys and successes. I graduated from Cal last year, and we still keep in touch every week. I bought into the whole YSP shtick, and it’s true—I am going to be there at his high school graduation, college graduation, and his wedding.” -Frank, 2nd year mentor

"YSP does an amazing job of getting the Cal campus more involved in the things they can do right here in the community, and my goal in turn has been to get the kids more involved in campus life--in activities and academic achievement at Willard and also looking ahead to high school and college success." -3rd year mentor


"I think when I came in, I had a very specific view of what it meant to be a mentor, that success as a mentor meant some kind of Hallmark-card, easily compartmentalized list of attributes, conversations, and events, but now I am able to see the myriad of different kinds of mentoring relationships and know mine is impactful as well." -Katie, 2nd year mentor

- Academics: 100% of our mentees receive academic help from their mentors. 50% of our students received all 3s (satisfactory) and 4s (excellent) in their habits of work grades, and an additional 20% made improvements towards that goal.

- Graduation: All of our 8th grade mentees and enrichment class students were elligible to walk at graduation.

- Behavior: 75% percent of our students had no Saturday schools or after-school detentions for disciplinary issues; 90% were in good standing concerning tardies.

- Activities: 93% of mentees say that their mentors have exposed them to new experiences.

- Leadership: The number of self-confident students increased by 25% after working with a mentor for one year. 81% of students are involved in decision-making with their mentors.

- Community Service: 40% of our mentees volunteer once a year or more. Our UC Berkeley volunteers contribute over 2,800 hours of service each year.

- Family Engagement: The number of parents who reported regularly attending school events increased by 20%; 50% our parents regularly attend YSP events.

For 2010-2011

Years in Action: 17

Number of Volunteers: 86

Willard Students Served: 116

Volunteer Hours: 2,874

Average Hours/Student: 45

Leveraged In-Kind Support:
$50,000+ per year