Serving as a mentor for Minds Matter Southern California for three years was the most rewarding experience I’ve had in LA since I moved here eight years ago. Watching my mentee progress through Minds Matter and achieve his dream of attending college showed me that volunteering for only a few hours a week can have a tangible, meaningful impact! While my mentee has since graduated from Minds Matter and is currently in his junior year at Carnegie Mellon, I am still involved in Minds Matter as a Sophomore Program Team Lead in my 6th consecutive year volunteering with the organization. College shouldn't be a barrier—it should be a beginning, creating the foundation for a better future. Yet far too many low-income students lack the resources, information, role models and opportunities to make their dreams of college a reality. Minds Matter Southern California fills this gap—and we want to do it for even more students! Every year we turn away many talented, determined students so we are Dreaming Big about our future. Over the next 4 years, we will grow the number of students we serve by 20% year over year. In addition, we want to deepen the services we provide by formalizing our programming that supports the transition to, and first year in, college. By Jan 2025, we will officially transition to a 4 year program. It is an ambitious goal and one we can only reach with your help. With your financial support, we can make opportunity accessible and actionable for more students. Donate today! We have two matching opportunities. For Giving Tuesday, if we raise $10,000 on that day, Nov. 28th it will be matched dollar for dollar by a board member. Then when we raise an additional $25,000, it will also be matched dollar for dollar! Many companies also match employee donations and/or employee volunteer hours. Be sure to check here if your company matches!