Change a Life by Becoming a Mentor

Change the life of a Philadelphia young person by becoming a mentor through Business Mentoring Youth (BMY).

BMY is the region’s leading work-based mentoring program for 10th grade Philadelphia high school students. It develops the city’s future business and cultural leaders by providing young people with a model for success, connecting them to the business community, and encouraging them to establish personal and professional goals.

The 10th graders work with a mentor for two to four hours a week from February to June. Students are unpaid and receive academic credit towards graduation while they learn valuable work skills.

Last year, more than 100 students from 17 Philadelphia high schools participated in Business Mentoring Youth. Thirty-three of the region’s companies participate in the program.

"The BMY program was a great experience because I learned a lot of new skills and had fun. My mentor was great too, she made me feel like I was a real employee and that was a good feeling," said Himee Nderura, a 10th grade student from Communications Technology High School in Southwest Philadelphia.

Sign up to become a mentor by the end of January. For more information about participating in BMY, visit philamentor.com.

BMY is a program of WorkReady Philadelphia, a comprehensive public-private partnership dedicated to building the region’s workforce.

This is part of Working Solutions, the Chamber’s initiative that connects the regional business community to Philadelphia youth through school-year mentoring opportunities, paid summer internships and advocacy efforts. Working Solutions is supported by our corporate partner Commerce Bank and managing partners Philadelphia Youth Network (PYN), Philadelphia Academies and United Way of Southeastern Pennsylvania.