AT&T Joins Big Brothers Big Sisters In Cutting-Edge Mentoring Program

Online, February 6, 2013 (Newswire.com) - Big Brothers Big Sisters is proud to announce a new collaboration with AT&T that will bring technology-based mentoring to high school students in Dallas with plans to expand nationally over the next five years.

AT&T employees are signing up to be a part of the Big Brothers Big Sisters mentor2.0 program, the newest addition to the AT&T Aspire Mentoring Academy.

Aspire Mentoring Academy is the key community engagement program of AT&T's $350 million investment in Aspire, focused on high school success leading to college and career readiness. In communities across the country, AT&T employees are mentoring high school students at risk of dropping out with the goal of providing 1 million hours of mentoring by the end of 2016.

A groundbreaking initiative developed by Big Brothers Big Sisters, mentor2.0 is a professionally supported, technology-enriched one-to-one mentoring program that engages high school students in the classroom and online in an entirely new way. Mentors and mentees use an interactive secure portal to follow a curriculum-based program administered by Big Brothers Big Sisters staff.

To date, more than 65 AT&T employees and 102 students have enrolled in the program at Kimball High School, part of the Dallas Independent School District. In addition to continuing online mentoring, each of these mentors and mentees will meet in person at group events during the semester that are organized at the student's school campus.

The first in-person meeting between AT&T mentors and high school mentees will be on Thursday (February 7) at 6 p.m. CT at Kimball High School.

"We are very proud and excited to be adding AT&T to our list of corporate supporters for this initiative," stated Tammy Richards, CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters. "To have an innovative technology leader at the table that recognizes the value and benefit of mentoring is extremely promising for our future growth in serving even more children through this groundbreaking program."

"Our employees are passionate about helping students be successful in high school, and the Big Brothers Big Sisters mentor2.0 program offers us an innovative way to be involved," said Charlene Lake, Chief Sustainability Officer at AT&T and mentor to a Kimball High School student as part of the Big Brothers Big Sisters program. "The program lets us use technology to share our skills and knowledge with students. That makes it flexible for us and leads to an effective and rich mentoring experience for the students."

The mentor2.0 curriculum-based mentoring program is geared toward providing support and guidance that students need to graduate high school and succeed in college and the workforce. The interaction between mentor and mentee is orchestrated via a secure, proprietary email system monitored by Big Brothers Big Sisters staff to ensure safety and provide relationship support. Some of the curricula include: problem solving skills, motivation, career exploration, interview skills, leadership and college admissions processes.

About Big Brothers Big Sisters
Big Brothers Big Sisters, the nation's largest donor and volunteer supported mentoring organization, holds itself accountable for children in its program to achieve measurable outcomes, such as educational success; avoidance of risky behaviors; and higher aspirations, greater confidence and better relationships. Partnering with parents/guardians, schools, corporations and others in the community, Big Brothers Big Sisters carefully pairs children ("Littles") with screened volunteer mentors ("Bigs") and monitors and supports these one-to-one mentoring matches throughout their course. The first-ever Big Brothers Big Sisters Youth Outcomes Summary, released in 2012, substantiates that its mentoring programs have proven, positive academic, socio-emotional and behavioral outcomes for youth, areas linked to high school graduation, avoidance of juvenile delinquency and college or job readiness.

Big Brothers Big Sisters provides children facing adversity, often those of single or low-income households or families where a parent is incarcerated or serving in the military, with strong and enduring, professionally supported one-to-one mentoring relationships that change their lives for the better, forever. This mission has been the cornerstone of the organization's 85-year history. Big Brothers Big Sisters Lone Star serves over 30,000 children, volunteers and families through 20 offices and over 100 counties in Texas. Learn how you can positively impact a child's life - donate or volunteer at bbbstx.org.

To learn more about Aspire Mentoring Academy, please visit www.att.com/aspirementoring/

About Community Engagement at AT&T
At AT&T, Community Engagement means engaging our employees to build strong, connected, and thriving communities where we live and do business. Employees are focused on three key issues: improving educational outcomes, building sustainable communities and promoting the responsible use of technology. In 2011, employees and retirees donated 6 million hours of time to community outreach activities and pledged more than $33 million for charities of their choice through the United Way/Employee Giving campaign. Employees also committed to more than 21,000 sustainable choices through Do One Thing (DOT), which invites employees to make small, everyday choices that add up to a big positive impact for themselves, the community and/or the company.