By Jennifer Mrozowski
The Cincinnati Enquirer

The Cincinnati Youth Collaborative on Thursday announced an expansion of its youth mentoring program, which organizers say is the largest single-site mentoring program in the nation.

Despite its success, more than 700 students remain on a waiting list requesting mentors and tutors.

A three-year federal grant for $581,000, awarded in October, will allow the organization to increase the number of mentors and augment training for them. The appropriation was the second-largest mentoring grant awarded nationally last year.

"The biggest thing this does is give us the capability to expand both the number and quality of the mentoring and tutoring relationships," said John Pepper, a Cincinnati Youth Collaborative founder and executive committee member. "We'll continue our primary focus on Cincinnati Public Schools but this will give us the ability to provide more training for more people in adjoining districts and adjoining counties."

The Cincinnati Youth Collaborative plans to expand "The Power of 1" mentoring program by:

Recruiting additional mentors, with a goal of expanding the number of students served by 750 over three years.

Strengthening support by adding six mentoring coordinators to serve 18 schools, bringing the total to 13 mentoring coordinators serving 58 Cincinnati Public Schools.

Creating a regional mentoring institute to share expertise of the program with other communities.

Mentors are asked to make a commitment of at least a year and connect with the students weekly. The program now serves nearly 1,800 students.

"If there's anything any one person can do to make an impact on changing things in Cincinnati, it's to make a decision to become a mentor," said Gary Lacy, CEO of the Cincinnati Youth Collaborative.

Twelve-year-old Deon Brooks, a sixth-grader at Washington Park Elementary school, has had a mentor for about a year.

His mentor, Amanda Wischmeyer, of Mount Lookout is temporarily living in Massachusetts for a graduate studies program. She talks with him about his studies and meets with him when she's in town for fun learning excursions, such as visiting the Omnimax Theater to see Jane Goodall's Wild Chimpanzees.

"When you need extra help in school, if a tutor can't help you, you can always go to your mentor," he said.

To become a mentor, call 475-4959 or go to Web site.

E-mail jmrozowski@enquirer.com