On January 19th, 2006, the New York City Department of Education’s New York City Mentoring Program (NYCMP) celebrated Mentoring Recognition Day in honor of National Mentoring Month.  More than 500 mentors, mentees, coordinators and program supporters visited the Madame Tussauds wax museum, and enjoyed all of the exhibits, including a special showcase on Black history.  Cameras flashed as students posed with wax figures of presidents, celebrities and other notable Americans. 

Upon entering the event, attendees received a congratulatory letter from Caroline Kennedy, Vice Chair of the Fund for Public Schools, thanking and recognizing all program participants for their roles in bringing further attention to the importance and value of mentoring.  In her letter, Ms. Kennedy wrote, “I hope that many more New Yorkers will be inspired by your example to share their time, talents, and resources with our students as we work together to strengthen the public schools.” 

The letter welcomed a new partner to the program, the New York State Banking Department, which has been paired with Progress High School for Professional Careers in Brooklyn. In the letter, Ms. Kennedy also emphasized that “the involvement of all of our mentoring partners helps to give hundreds of students exposure to real-life work environments and the opportunity to explore potential career possibilities.”

Also acknowledged were the New York City Mentoring Program’s outstanding Mentor-Mentee Pair of the Year: Andrew Schwartz, a mentor from Major League Baseball and his mentee, Gin Ortiz, a senior at the Academy for Careers in Sports.  The pair was honored for their successful commitment to mentoring and received special recognition awards from Lori Mastromauro, Program Director.  Together for more than three years, Andrew and Gin have developed a deep and lasting relationship.  To read more about Andrew and Gin’s mentoring experience, click here.

At the end of the event, attendees left with goody bags in hand, having enjoyed a very special outing in recognition of their mentoring activities.  NYCMP thanks the following supporters for their generous contributions to this event: Colgate Palmolive Company, Entenmann’s, Hyperion Books, Madame Tussauds New York, MTV Networks, the New York Mets and Penguin (USA).