The LeadershipCares Foundation
10181 Nightingale Street
Gaithersburg MD 20882

Ron Yudd (301) 540-5791

THE CHILDREN’S CHARITIES FOUNDATION AWARDS MAJOR GRANT TO SUPPORT LEADERSHIPCARES PROGRAMS IN THE WASHINGTON D.C. AREA

May 14, 2008-The Children’s Charities Foundation, a Washington D.C. based non-profit organization has awarded a major grant to help support the work of LeadershipCares and it’s three outreach programs in youth-to-youth mentoring, literacy tutoring and hunger relief. The grant will help to support the three programs for the 2008-2009 school year.

The Children’s Charities Foundation was founded in 1994 by a group of Washington-area business and professional leaders and has distributed nearly $7 million to charities in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area including the District of Columbia; Montgomery and Prince Georges Counties in Maryland; Fairfax and Arlington Counties in Virginia; and the City of Alexandria, Virginia. The Children’s Charities Foundation works to provide essential funds to support public and private programs and services for children in need.

The Children’s Charities Foundation raises most of its funds from an annual basketball tournament featuring college and university teams and from a gala dinner. Funds go to non-profit organizations that support disadvantaged and at-risk children by strengthening their health and welfare, supporting strong and cohesive families, and assisting educational and recreational programs.

Lula Davis, the Executive Director of LeadershipCares said "We are very grateful to the Children's Charities Foundation for their generosity. With this grant we will be able to help more young people succeed while also expanding our community outreach programs. We are also very excited about this new partnership with the Children's Charities Foundation and look forward to a long working relationship serving the needs of young people throughout the Washington D.C. area."

LeadershipCares operates three Outreach Programs that work to teach teenagers and young adults the leadership and life skills needed to succeed in their school, workplace and community.

LeadershipCares accomplishments during the 2007-2008 school year include:

• MentorCares program entered its fifth year at Northwestern High School Hyattsville MD.
• Held the seventh annual LiteracyCares Award of Excellence Dinner in Washington D.C.
• MentorCares students adopted Rosa Parks Elementary for Saturday literacy sessions.
• MentorCares students organized and raised money for annual hunger relief program.
• MentorCares students attended after school workshops to learn leadership and life skills.
• Students assembled food boxes for 840 families for tenth annual ThanksgivingCares.
• Held the fourth annual MentorCares Scholarship and Celebration Event in April 2008

For more information on LeadershipCares Foundation please call 301-540-5791 or visit the website at: www.leadershipcares.org

Youth to Youth Mentoring

The program trains high school students in effective mentoring, coaching and leadership skills. High school juniors and seniors use these acquired skills when they begin to mentor an incoming 9th grader that is assigned to them by the MentorCares™ coordinator.

The goals of the program are:

• To positively affect the life of the 9th graders and set them up for success as they begin their high school careers.
• To provide the juniors and seniors with the appropriate mentoring, leadership and life skills that will be useful throughout their personal and professional lives.
• To provide training to fortify today's youth and adults with marketable skills to take into the workplace and provide a training ground to nurture self-confidence, personal responsibility and the value of service to others.
• To teach the concept of volunteerism by having the younger students give back as mentors when they reach their junior and/or senior year.

The program is focused on the one-to-one relationship between the mentor and their mentee. The mentor agrees to meet with his/her mentee for a minimum of 2 hours per month. He/she also agrees to attend annual events centered on the four MentorCares™ themes. The interactive and "fun based" annual events are aligned with the following themes:

• Building Leadership Skills
• Building Life Skills
• Exploring Career Opportunities
• Celebrating Volunteerism

A caring adult is assigned to each pair of young people to assist, guide and nurture the relationship. The adult works with the pair to teach and coach them on the 12 leadership skills and the 12 life skills. Adults receive mentor training that can also be used to help them become more effective supervisors and managers in their workplace. The adults offer guidance in career exploration, career development and "hands on" leadership skills as they work with the young people planning and organizing the annual events.

Expectations and Commitment:

Young People (9th Grader/Juniors and Seniors):

• Attendance at annual One-Day Leadership Camp
• Meet as a team for two hours per month with their adult coach
• Participation in three of the four annual events

Caring Adult:

• Attendance at official orientation and training session
• Attendance and participation at annual One-Day Leadership Conference
• Meet two hours per month with their assigned pair of young people
• Participation in three of the four annual events

For more information on MentorCares and the Leadership Cares Foundation please contact Ron Yudd at 301-540-5791.