Background:
The KELLY Award is a scholarship opportunity offered by Mass Mentoring Partnership (MMP) in conjunction with the Kelly Family Foundation, to youth who live in Massachusetts. The KELLY (Keep Encouraging Lifelong Learning for Youth) Award was established in 2007 in honor of Ted and Debbie Kelly. Ted Kelly, the former CEO of Liberty Mutual, served as Board Chair for MMP for seven years and positively impacted youth mentoring in Massachusetts.
This year s Kelly Award of $30,000 will be open to a young person in 10th-12th grade, who has overcome tremendous adversity with the help of their mentor and is on track to graduate and pursue an undergraduate degree. Part of the award will be used to support and encourage the young person to keep on track to graduate from high school and seek an undergraduate degree; the balance will be used towards obtaining that degree.
Nomination Process:
Students are nominated for this scholarship by an adult with whom the young person shares a positive and empowering mentoring relationship. Applications are filled out and submitted by this adult, who could be a formal mentor, teacher, after-school program leader, youth volunteer, or someone who takes part in a formal program that supports youth-adult relationships. The stories that the adult shares throughout the application allow reviewers to better understand the young person, so that the young person has a more competitive application. The more in-depth the stories, the better.
Eligibility:
- The nominating adult must have had a relationship with the young person for at least one year. The mentoring relationship could have taken place in the past or be ongoing. Relationships under one year will not be considered. The adult may not be related to the young person.
- Only adults who are involved with Massachusetts-based youth development or mentoring programs or in some similar role such as a teacher, coach, youth group leader, etc. may nominate a young person for the KELLY Award.
- The young person must be attending a Massachusetts high school and be a sophomore, junior, or senior in the fall of 2022.
Application Instructions:
- ONCE YOU START FILLING OUT THE FORM, YOU ARE NOT ABLE TO SAVE AND GO BACK TO IT. We recommend downloading a copy of this template to work on and save your progress before entering and submitting your application through this online form.
- If you have completed the application, please check the "Submit Application" box. Your application will not be considered until the "Submit Application" box is checked AND you press save.
- Please complete the form in its entirety.
- Only complete applications will be considered.
Additional Application Materials:
- Required: Letter of Recommendation to be completed by someone other than the nominating adult or a family member. The letter could be written by a program director, guidance counselor, etc. (UPLOAD THE RECOMMENDATION LETTER IN THE UPLOAD SECTION BELOW)
- Optional: Picture of the adult mentor (you) and the young person (UPLOAD THE PICTURE IN THE UPLOAD SECTION BELOW)
Applications are evaluated according to the following criteria:
- Demonstrated perseverance and resilience
- Strength of mentoring relationship
- Evidence of young person striving for academic development or advancement
- Specific plans for use of award money
- Demonstrated need for award money
If awarded, MMP requires the following:
- Participation by the young person and nominating adult in Mass Mentoring Partnership's in-person event, the Journey to 30 Symposium and Celebration, on November 10 at Encore Boston Harbor. The KELLY Award recipient and their mentor will be recognized during this event.
- Signed permission form from the young person's parent or guardian.
- If your mentee is chosen to receive the KELLY Award, they will be required to submit a bill for the program/activity/school they propose which will be reviewed and approved by the KELLY Award Committee before disbursement of funds. The mentee will also be required to submit a short summary of how they benefited from the program/activity/school at the end of each year that the funds are disbursed. Please notify Mass Mentoring Partnership if you anticipate any difficulty with your mentee complying with these requirements.
Important Dates:
- All application materials must be submitted online by July 15th, at 5 p.m. LATE APPLICATIONS WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED.
- Applicants will be notified about the status of their application in early August.
Questions:
- With questions about how to submit your application via QuickBase, or if you are having any technical issues, please contact Adesuwa Olumhense at aolumhense@massmentors.org
- With questions about the application process, please contact Anne Comber at acomber@massmentors.org
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