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Who We Are Operation Jump Start is a Long Beach community based mentoring program dedicated to assisting disadvantaged youth who show strong academic promise to stay in school and improve their lives through higher education.
Our mission is to help socially and economically disadvantaged youth, ages 13-18, within the Long Beach Unified School District (LBUSD) to become tomorrow’s leaders. Many come from single-parent, low-income, immigrant or refugee families with a history of welfare dependence. Most are first generation high school graduates and first-generation college entrants. We match our students with volunteer adult mentors who will provide them with five years of continuous guidance, leadership and coaching, beginning in 8th grade and continuing until the student graduates from high school.
The primary goal of this program is to change the lives of disadvantaged youth through education. According to the Long Beach Unified School District, in the 2000-2001 school year 654 students dropped out of high school. That is unacceptable! We work with LBUSD middle school and high school counselors to identify and assist those students who, without an organization such as ours, would very likely not finish high school.
A secondary purpose of the program is preventing disadvanatged students from becoming involved with drugs or violence.
Many teens in our community suffer from too little support, too few resources and too many temptations. In most cases, students lack educated, positive and successful adult role models. Their parents are often illiterate and unable to assist with homework. We help them overcome these, and other, obstacles through committed mentors and community involvement.
What We Do
Our mentoring program offers our students participation in a variety of educational workshops, cultural activities and community service events that promote higher education, self-confidence, cultural sensitivity and a sense of belonging and participation:
- Career Development Workshops
- College Scholarships
- Cultural Diversity Workshops
- College Tours
- Financial Aid Workshops
- Tutoring
- Time Management & Study Skills Workshops
- Asistance with SAT/ACT Review
- Life Skills Seminars
- Red Cross Leadership Development Camp
- College Bound Assistance
- Drug/Alcohol Abuse Prevention Seminars
- Computer Donation Program
- Asistance with SAT/ACT
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Opportunities
If you want to become a mentor, click on Donations and then Mentors.
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