Operation Jump Start

I love volunteering with Operation Jumpstart! If you’re really looking to make a difference in a kid’s life, this is a great way to do it.
They take the time to match you with a menthe with similar personality traits and then help you grow together. Many of these kids are extremely self motivated, they just need a little help on their journey to college. The staff is great and always there to support.
I’ve been active with OJS for 2 years and hope to be active for many more!

I did a five year mentor stent with Operation Jump Start (OJS), and it was one of the most rewarding things I’ve ever done. The organization is filled with wonderful people who have dedicated their lives to our community and to empowering young people who want to grow into productive, community-​minded adults. I highly recommend volunteering your time or charitable giving efforts to OJS. You will not regret it.

They’re turning college dreams into reality for deserving youth. Great place to volunteer. Serves over 300 underserved youth annually.

I’ve been mentoring for a few months, but am already a big supporter of the organization. I highly recommend this organization for anyone looking to become a mentor.
They offer mostly structured meetings to help the students. So as a mentor you don’t always need to worry about planning what to do.
As Kreuzensolo mentions, you do spend some of your own money, but the organization never asks you to spend anything you don’t want to. It is completely up to you. There is never any pressure.
As Mary mentions, the organization provides great support for the mentors and more importantly the students.
Like any non-​profit they suffer from being understaffed and underfunded. As a result some of the sessions could be better organized. However the effort put in by leaders such as Erik can’t be questioned. All the mentors and staff genuinely want to see the students succeed and get to college. If you feel strongly about helping educate under served students, then I highly recommend checking the organization out.

i think it’s pretty understandable whenever someone gives you an attitude, it’s not very welcoming
i volunteered here too for about 6 months. volunteered, in the sense that yes, this is unpaid and you spend quite a bit of your own time and dime with some potentially great students and their parents
that is not where my problem lies. part of participating in this volunteer program is to log in online and give a brief summary of how mentors spent time with their students. and i was personally told that if there were any issues, to call in or bring it up at the next meeting. or a mentor can request a follow up while writing their summary
i did just that when i suspected some odd social behaviors from the student i was paired with. my student was not a «bad kid» by any means, but there were signs of some socializing issues. after having gone to a couple jump start meetings with my student, i noticed he was very much unlike the other students. not socializing well, awkward to speak to and so forth. this was vastly different from the smiles and playing from other students that i saw with their respective mentors
so i received a call from filipina who wanted to have a meeting with me to discuss what i noticed. her and irene brought along jill jones, some kind of social worker or a case worker. this is when i felt uneasy when that social worker flat out denied going forth to have anything done about the matter. her attitude towards me was absolutely appalling and very much unprofessional. and this was clearly after the fact that prior to the meeting, i had discussed the issue with filipina and irene who also stated they noticed my student was «off». even mentioning that another staff member, erik, noticed as well. so their best course of action was to simply sweep the matters under the rug?
their explanation was simply that my student may have been shy which simply was not the case when i spent time at the home and their events. now, all ppl being brought in to volunteer are expected to be educated and the same goes for the staff. although filipina and irene are so incredibly nice, it’s a shame how bad jill jones dealt with the issue
although i personally did not have an answer or idea on how to go about it, it is their job to figure out the best solution. skirting the issue simply solves nothing, is highly unethical and in my opinion, very despicable

This organization rules! I’ve been a mentor with Operation Jump Start for three years now and it’s been an amazing experience. I highly recommend this for anyone who is looking to volunteer in the community and help make a difference.
It’s a five year commitment — you get paired up with an eighth grader and you are their mentor until they graduate from high school. The goal of the program is to encourage them and provide guidance to help them along the way. You are required to spend a minimum of eight hours per month with your mentee — but scheduled program activities count towards those eight hours.
The people who run the program — Carrie, Tina and Dara — are amazing. Carrie does such a good job pairing up mentors and mentees. Operation Jump Start has a great support system so you never feel like you are alone — they are there for you every step of the way.
The program offers structured activities through out the year — and they vary from workshops to museum trips to Cirque du Soleil to rock climbing, etc. It’s so much fun. I’ve done so many things I never thought I’d do like surfing and snowboarding — and going to the opera!