Mentor’s Care is a 501©(3) non-profit organization founded by Dena Petty in 2009 as a Texas non-profit corporation originally named Movement Toward a Future, Incorporated. The program is built on what Petty wished she had growing up in a very dysfunctional environment. The goal of Mentors Care is to provide students with the support they need, not only to graduate but to live their lives to their fullest potential.
Why Mentor’s Care Exists
A significant population of students in our high schools face numerous challenges that put them at risk of failing or not graduating. These challenges include homelessness, impoverishment, poor support systems, failed classes, poor attendance, incarcerated parents, single-parent homes, peer pressure, and poor judgment.
Even students with loving parents and guardians can sometimes get off track.
Mentors Care partners with these parents and school administrators to match students with caring mentors who can help guide them back onto a healthy course. Students without positive adult role models are at real risk of not graduating and often face more difficult futures.
These mentors assure young people that someone cares for them and that they are not alone in dealing with life’s day-to-day challenges. Mentors help students understand that they truly matter. Ultimately, mentoring helps propel students toward personal growth and development, as well as social and economic opportunities that they might otherwise never realize.