Previous Initiative: College Mentors for Kids (2013-2019)

Cornell University Chapter Partnership with College for Kids 2013–2019

Supported by the generosity of the Sigma Pi Educational Foundation and other community members, the chapter played a key role in the program from its inception in 2013 until 2019 through financial support and brotherhood mentors.

College Mentors for Kids connects kids to college students through weekly, on-campus activities that inspire growth, confidence, and enable brighter futures. The program expands the post-high school possibilities available to Ithaca children, almost a third of whom come from at-risk households. The impact created by College Mentors for Kids is far-reaching and nationally recognized. Former “Little Buddies” involved in the program have been observed to enjoy higher average secondary school attendance rates when compared to the national average.

College Mentors for Kids has served to benefit families in the area as well. The program offers a safe after-school environment, exposure to higher education, and access to positive role models. The expansion to Cayuga Heights Elementary allowed the organization to reach a larger number of single-parent or low-income households, which maximizes the influence College Mentors for Kids has on those who need it most.

Over the course of each program year, mentors created positive relationships with their little buddies, participating in activities that facilitated a shared experience and exposed little buddies to what college life is like at Cornell University. A few activity highlights: an activity with Theta Tau, an engineering fraternity on campus, where mentors and little buddies learned about careers in engineering and constructed their own rollercoasters; obstacle courses and leadership lessons with Cornell ROTC; learning about business plans with Phi Gamma Nu, a business fraternity on campus; and an activity on service and the role of seeing-eye dogs with Guiding Eyes, a community service organization at Cornell.