The National Youth Employment Coalition (NYEC) selected Youth Mentoring Collaborative and the City of Durham as a pilot site for the Youth Champion Communities: Mayors Challenge. We are one of only six communities chosen across the country to embark on a shared process of developing collaborative youth ecosystems, with youth mentoring being our focus in Durham. The NYEC work represents Phase II of the work YMC has already begun in building the Durham Youth Mentoring Alliance. Over the past several months, our youth/adult core team has engaged over 150 youth, mentoring practitioners, and parents/caregivers, including representation from 27 mentoring / youth-serving organizations, to identify strategies to expand access to evidence-based mentoring for young people, and create opportunities that all Durham youth and families need to improve their overall quality of life, particularly those most impacted by systems of oppression.

We are inviting mentoring organizations, youth, and cross-sector partners from the workforce, government, education, and philanthropy to collaborate with us in creating a Community Asset Map for Durham. At this event, we will present the findings report for Phase I of the Durham Youth Mentoring Alliance and conduct a self-assessment of the Durham mentoring ecosystem. Together, we will build a Community Asset Map, which will serve as a key resource for Phase II of this initiative, along with begin the strategic planning process.