Media contact:
Beth Dempsey, 248.349.7810 or beth@bethdempsey.com
May 5, 2008 (CHICAGO) - The Boston Public Library’s Homework Assistance Mentoring Program (HAP) was presented with the 2008 Urban Libraries Council (ULC)/Highsmith Award of Excellence at the organization’s annual membership meeting today in Anaheim. The award honors North America’s best library youth programming and the organization receives a $1,000 check.
BPL’s HAP matches elementary and middle school students with high school students for help with homework, providing meaningful opportunities for all participants. The program runs after school and on Saturdays in the Central Library and each of the library’s 27 branches. In 2008, the library predicts they will serve more than 700 kids in 11,900 mentoring sessions.
“Our role at ULC is to help build strong members and strong communities by identifying and honoring stand-out programs,” said Martín Gómez, president of ULC. “Targeted service that contributes to educating our urban youth is essential to being a dynamic urban library. HAP is a model of success built by working with, and listening, to kids about what they need from the library. Not only is it a service to kids, it’s a service to the community, at large.”
Bernard A. Margolis, President of the Boston Public Library noted that “this honor from our colleagues motivates us to do even more to serve our diverse neighborhoods and to continue to invest in all aspects of life-long learning which are hallmarks of great public library service.”
HAP addresses an urgent need to get more Boston students to graduation. According to a Massachusetts Department of Education projection, 28% percent of Boston’s class of 2008 will have dropped out before graduation. HAP provides younger students with options for completing homework, even if adults are unavailable at home after school, increasing their chances of academic success. Further, it provides high school students with meaningful community service during the school year, rather than just summer months.
“The vision of HAP is to build a community in which high schoolers are empowered and recognized as leaders and community builders through their role as caring, reliable, and professional mentors to younger children,” said Ruth Kowal, BPL’s Deputy Director. “In turn, these younger children now have a better chance at achieving their own victories.”
The ULC/Highsmith Award of Excellence was founded in 1995 and honors library programs that contribute to positive youth development in urban areas. The selection committee evaluates programs based on three elements: the program is developed with youth; it results in youth contributing to their communities, having meaningful relationships with adults and peers, and developing personal and social skills; and, it helps prepare youth for educational and personal challenges. Learn more about this and other ULC awards at www.urbanlibraries.org.
About the Urban Libraries Council
For more than 30 years the Urban Libraries Council (ULC) has worked to strengthen public libraries as an essential part of urban life. A membership organization of North America's premier public library systems and the corporations that serve them, ULC serves as a forum for sharing best practices resulting from targeted research, education and forecasting. ULC's programs are acclaimed for inspiring new organizational models that invigorate urban libraries and enrich the areas surrounding them. ULC is headquartered in Chicago. For more information, visit the group on the Web at www.urbanlibraries.org. |
