FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 13, 2020
Contact:
Jason Wiegand, Future Ready Iowa Mentoring Program Manager, jason.wiegand@iowaeda.com; 515.348.6262
Betsy Shelton, Volunteer Iowa, betsy.shelton@iowaeda.com; 515.348.6228
Future Ready Iowa Launches E-Mentoring Program
Program pairs Last Dollar Scholarship recipients with career mentors
DES MOINES, IOWA —Future Ready Iowa launched an e-mentoring platform today, geared to support Last Dollar Scholarship recipients by partnering them with career-related mentors. Through engaging in the Future Ready Iowa Mentoring Program (a collaborative partner of Volunteer Iowa), college students throughout Iowa will make meaningful career connections that enhance their academic experience and strengthen their job readiness skills.
“Connecting a student with a career mentor can potentially make the difference between that student persisting and graduating or leaving school altogether. Students who engage in the mentoring program will be well-prepared for the college-to-career transition,” said Jason Wiegand, Future Ready Iowa Mentoring Program Manager. “An advantage of our e-mentoring platform is that we are able to connect mentors and mentees throughout the entire state, in spite of barriers related to transportation or scheduling conflicts.”
"The best career resource for Iowa students is a professional willing to share their knowledge and experience,” added Governor Kim Reynolds. “Mentoring is a rewarding opportunity to shape a young career and help create a future ready workforce for Iowa."
The Future Ready Iowa Mentoring Program is seeking mentors in high-demand fields. To view a list of the occupations in which students need mentors, click here. Visit https://futurereadyiowamentoring.chronus.com/ for more information and to sign up to be a career mentor.
For the Fall 2019 semester, $6,818,758 scholarship dollars were awarded to 6032 students enrolled in eligible programs, with plans to earn a certificate, diploma or associate degree aligned with a designated high-demand job.
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About Future Ready Iowa
The Future Ready Iowa Act, signed by Governor Reynolds in 2018, launched an aggressive workforce policy initiative to ensure that 70 percent of Iowans in the workforce achieve training or education beyond high school by the year 2025. To learn more, visit https://www.futurereadyiowa.gov/.
About Volunteer Iowa
Volunteer Iowa and its partner agencies work with organizations and individuals on three main fronts. The first is to help agencies develop quality programs that use service as a strategy to fulfill their missions and address Iowa’s greatest areas of need. The second is to help engage Iowans in their communities by promoting service and expanding the volunteer base. Finally, the third area of work is to connect individuals with appropriate service opportunities by building the volunteer infrastructure. More information is available at www.volunteeriowa.org.