Mentoring Matters: Communities In Schools Chatham

Communities In Schools (CIS) of Chatham County surrounds students with a community of support empowering them to stay in school and achieve in life.  We serve vulnerable children and youth ages 6 to 18 countywide referred by Chatham County Schools (CCS), Social Services (DSS), Juvenile Justice (DJJ), mental health providers, teachers, and parents. Many of these youth live in families struggling with poverty. Most have persistent emotional, health, or developmental needs that negatively impact relationships with educators and peers, and increase their risk for dropping out of school.

We match referred children one-on-one with a qualified adult volunteer who meets with the mentee an average of four hours per month for a year. Mentors can also help young people by assuring them that they are not alone, modeling positive responses to daily challenges, and building their personal sense of self-worth. Mentoring provides friendship, social support, enrichment activities, and in some cases academic support. Mentors are trained, screened, and supervised by our experienced Student Support Specialist. Youth receive ongoing, individualized case management. Parents/guardians are regularly engaged and families receive basic needs, advocacy and support as needed.

Of the CIS Chatham County youth matched with mentors in 2018:

97% of youth served received free or reduced lunch

90% have experienced some kind of trauma

28% have had DSS involvement

72% live in single parent homes

18% live with non-parent

44% have documented disability


But what a difference one person can make! 


Your efforts as a mentor (or your contributions to help CIS expand our mentoring support) can help Chatham County youth maintain a positive attitude, improve in school, and succeed in life in spite of the adverse circumstances they may encounter.

So won't you join us in our efforts to serve more Chatham county youth through our mentoring program by contributing to our Mentoring Matters GoFundMe campaign?

More youth need CIS’s help, and we need your help to scale up services for them. To learn more about our programs, impacts, and volunteer opportunities, visit www.cischatham.org . There you will also find success stories of many youth who have grown more resilient because of CIS Chatham County’s community connections. Their success – today and tomorrow — is possible because caring community members like you sustain support for our mission.

We never give up on a child because we believe all children can succeed with positive supports. If you share this belief, please join us to surround students with a community of support, empowering them to stay in school and achieve in life!

This is an official fundraising campaign for Communities In Schools Chatham County and funds will be sent directly to the organization. Find out more about CIS CC Mentoring Program