UPMC Partners With Local Non-Profit to Offer Its Employees as Online Career Mentors for High School Students

Pittsburgh, PA (Vocus) January 14, 2010

The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC), the region’s largest employer, has announced a partnership today with a nonprofit called SmartFutures, kicking off a month-long drive to recruit employees to participate in online career mentoring for high school students. SmartFutures is a non-profit organization that is a leading provider of career education programs in Pennsylvania.

During the month of October, Smart Futures participated in the Dignity and Respect Campaign, which was launched by the UPMC Center for Inclusion in Health Care, as a community initiative to encourage community unity, dignity, and respect. To promote the campaign, UPMC awarded a ‘Day of Service’ to the organization that received the most online pledges. As part of their commitment to serve, UPMC will be helping to increase participation in PA eMentoring, a program offered by Smart Futures.

During the drive, thousands of high school students will be matched with UPMC volunteers over the Internet, to help them realistically think about and plan for their future – learning more about who they are, where they want to go, and how they can get there. At the conclusion of the ten-week program, each participating student will receive a personalized college and career plan, that they will create with their mentor. UPMC has also recruited the support of several of their partner organizations to expand the mentor recruitment into the community. Community College of Allegheny County and Bidwell Training Center will be calling on their staff and students to become eMentors.

“We are encouraging our employees to participate in a mentoring program that will match them with a high school student,” said Candi Castleberry-Singleton, UPMC’s Chief Inclusion and Diversity Officer. “This is a great opportunity to help young people understand that there are a wide-range of health careers, in addition to doctors and nurses, as well as the real opportunities and demands within a workplace. And who better to give them advice than our employees who have already successfully navigated the path from high school to a health career? The beauty of this concept is that each employee’s career path is unique and contains nuggets of wisdom that can help a young person navigate his or her own path to success.”

“For high school students today, success isn’t assured by college enrollment. Today, young people need to acquire the knowledge and skills that are demanded by the careers they are interested in and best suited for. The reality is that today’s workforce does not have enough skilled workers for the jobs that are available, and PA eMentoring was created to help address that challenge,” commented David Mosey, Executive Director of Smart Futures, the local non-profit organization that hosts PA eMentoring. "Research clearly shows that career education and mentoring, used together, have a powerful impact on motivating and guiding kids to succeed. Partnering with UPMC to recruit among their 50,000 employees and delivering the program over the Internet will allow us to provide career mentors to thousands of kids in hundreds of schools."

PA eMentoring is convenient, safe, and easy to use for both mentor and mentee and done completely online. It uses a highly structured 10 week curriculum that helps to guide the communication around issues of college and careers. The program is implemented by teachers who are trained to use it in their classrooms. "With support from UPMC’s Human Resources team, this effort is one that will have a tremendous ripple effect from a very small time commitment of community service," said Mosey.

With the involvement of UPMC, American Eagle, BNY Mellon and many other local employers, the program is already one of the largest online mentoring programs for high school students in the United States. Since the implementation of a highly successful pilot in 2008, PA eMentoring has worked with more than 50 schools and community based organizations and 100 employers to reach more than 1500 young people. Those who complete the program have higher self-esteem and a better understanding of careers and career paths, and are more confident about their future. Online mentors have a 95 percent re-enrollment rate. The program works and is being expanded. Any working and retired adults, parents and mature college students can sign up to be a volunteer eMentor at http://www.pa-ementor.org.

A true community partnership, PA eMentoring is supported by school fees as well contributions from The Pittsburgh Foundation, Heinz Endowments, Highmark Healthy High Five Foundation, Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation, BNY Mellon Charitable Foundation, Grable Foundation, Buhl Foundation, Duquesne Light, NexTier Bank, American Eagle Outfitters Foundation and PPG Industries.

About PA eMentoring
PA eMentoring is a unique online career mentoring program that helps high school students build a realistic career goal and a concrete path that will take them there. The ultimate outcome is a student who secures a good paying job that they are qualified for and enjoy. PA eMentoring provides a rewarding experience for mentors to help high school kids “get real” about their future: who they are, where they want go, and how they can get there. For more information, contact Romy Banks at 412-288-3900 ext 228 or rbanks(at)smartfutures(dot)org.

About Smart Futures
Smart Futures (http://www.smartfutures.org ) is a 501-c3 organization and a leading provider of career education resources in Pennsylvania. Smart Futures current online career education programs include: PA eMentoring, Keys2Work, My Career Journey and Financial Literacy 101.

About UPMC
UPMC is an $8 billion integrated global health enterprise headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and is one of the leading nonprofit health systems in the United States. As western Pennsylvania’s largest employer, with 50,000 employees, UPMC is transforming the economy of the region into one based on medicine, research and technology. By integrating 20 hospitals, 400 doctors’ offices and outpatient sites, long-term care facilities and a major health insurance services division, and in collaboration with its academic partner, the University of Pittsburgh Schools of the Health Sciences, UPMC has advanced the quality and efficiency of health care and developed internationally renowned programs in transplantation, cancer, neurosurgery, psychiatry, orthopedics and sports medicine, among others. UPMC is commercializing its medical and technological expertise by nurturing new companies, developing strategic business relationships with some of the world’s leading multinational corporations, and expanding into international markets, including Italy, Ireland, the United Kingdom, Cyprus, Qatar and Japan. For more information about UPMC, visit our Web site at http://www.upmc.com.

Contacts:
Kelley Denny or Lynn Seay
prwerks PR
412-784-1719/352-9240

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