HERC Resources

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Boston HERC Peer Mentor Program Plan (Alphonso Westley 06-07)

Member Name: Alphonso Westley

Service Site: Boston HERC

Location: Roxbury, MA

Project Focus:

In this project, Alphonso Westley describes how he developed and added a peer mentoring component the Boston HERC Mentor Program. This program will work in conjunction with the Passport Program, in that the junior and senior high school students will serve as mentors for middle school students. The program is intended to help participants improve academically and become more connected to school.

College Prep: Leon de Juda

COLLEGE PREP

Leon de Juda’s Higher Education Resource Center (Boston, MA)

Who They Serve : Inner-city high school students

What They Do : Help inner-city students to prepare for college

Brief Description :

Leon de Juda is a predominantly Hispanic congregation of approximately 500 members located in the Roxbury neighborhood of inner-city Boston . The church’s “Let’s Get Ready” program focuses on strengthening students’ academic skills while its weekly mentoring ministry matches urban teens with Christian college students who can help the high school students to grow more holistically. The church’s Higher Education Resource Center offers classes to help prepare 10 th, 11 th, and 12 th grade students to increase their scores on standardized high school tests and college entrance tests (the MCAS and SAT exams). The Center also provides assistance to students and their families in completing college admissions forms and navigating financial aid processes.

Tip : To read an in-depth profile of this program, click here.