Mentoring program announced

Big Brothers Big Sisters to partner with organizations to mentor Lorain students

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Lorain County announced a new mentoring program for Lorain High School students on Nov. 29.

In an evening ceremony at Lorain County Community College, the “Big Reveal” President and CEO Orlando Grant announced Big Brothers Big Sisters will partner with local organizations to assist 60 ninthgrade scholars at Lorain High School.

With the help of title sponsor Huntington Bank, Big Brothers Big Sisters will partner with The Cleveland Clinic – Avon Hospital, The Nord Center and the United Way of Lorain County.

“Titan Mentoring is a new innovative program where we’re taking mentoring to the next level. Not just preparing kids for the here and now but for what the future they can become,” Grant said.

Roshonda Smith, Community Development and Regional manager for Huntington Bank, stressed the partnership was exactly the type of work they want to be a part in building community.

“We’re really excited to be the title sponsor for this Titan Mentoring Program. At Huntington, we believe in taking care of each other and taking care of our community,” Smith said. “It’s part of our culture. When Orlando (Grant) approached me about being a sponsor for this program, we didn’t think

twice about it. We got our leadership together and talked about putting our resources where our culture is and this is exactly where we want to be.”

The program will bring students into worksites where they will be mentored by employees in supporting their cultural development and prepare them for the workforce.

Bill Harper, executive director of the United Way of Lorain County, said mentoring was the secret sauce that’s missing in Lorain County community

development and said it was critical to invest in these kids for the future of this area.

“I just want to publicly say that when David Hardy (Jr.) came in as the CEO of Lorain City Schools I promised him we would do anything we could to make Lorain City Schools better and serve those kids,” Harper said. “We don’t care about the politics of all that that you read in the paper every day. We just want to come together and help these kids.”

Both The Nord Center’s Eric Morse and Cleveland Clinic’s Lacey Piper committed to having 10 employees from their respective

“We don’t care about the politics of all that that you read in the paper every day. We just want to come together and help these kids.”

— Bill Harper, executive director of the United Way of Lorain County

organizations to work with scholars and mentors.