MentorKids Stories & Updates
Press releases, MentorMoments, announcements, reflections, and real-life updates from across our Promise Neighborhoods.
WESPAC Charities Awards Grant to MentorKids USA
WESPAC Charities has awarded a grant to MentorKids USA in support of year-round youth development programming across our six Promise Neighborhoods, helping students grow academically, personally, and as developing leaders.
Phoenix, AZ – MentorKids USA is honored to announce that it has received a generous grant from WESPAC Charities in support of the organization’s year-round youth development programming.
MentorKids USA serves more than 600 K–12 youth each year through six Promise Neighborhoods across the Valley. Through LEAD, its K–8 after-school program; the Summer Enrichment Program; and iLEAD, its high school leadership and workforce development program, MentorKids provides youth with academic support, mentorship, leadership development, enrichment, workforce preparation, and opportunities for personal growth. All programming is provided at no cost to families.
“We are incredibly grateful to WESPAC Charities for investing in MentorKids USA and the young people we serve,” said Aaron Parrott, Executive Director of MentorKids USA. “Their commitment to strengthening Arizona communities closely aligns with our belief that lasting change begins by investing in young people and equipping them to become leaders in their lives, families, and communities.”
MentorKids USA’s Promise Neighborhood model establishes a long-term presence within the communities it serves, with programming currently offered in South Phoenix, Palomino in North Phoenix, Paiute in South Scottsdale, Maryvale, Tempe, and Sunnyslope.
WESPAC’s commitment to giving back is rooted in strengthening the communities that shape Arizona’s future. MentorKids USA is grateful to partner with WESPAC Charities in creating lasting opportunities for young people and stronger communities across the Valley. To learn more about WESPAC Charities, visit www.wespacaz.com/charity.
Download the Official Press Release
About MentorKids USA
MentorKids USA is a faith-based nonprofit equipping K–12 students to become transformative leaders in their families and communities. Through six Promise Neighborhoods across the Phoenix area, MentorKids provides no-cost programs focused on academic excellence, spiritual growth, and leadership development. From elementary school through high school, students are surrounded by consistent relationships and opportunities to learn, lead, and invest in others—Building Leaders Who Build Leaders.
Media Contact
Jill Bailey
Development Director, MentorKids USA
480-767-6707 | [email protected]
Be Like Orv: How One Man's Faith at 78 Built Something That Outlasted Him
"At 78, Orv Krieger answered God’s call to found MentorKids, stepping out in faith when many would have stepped back. Now, 25 years later, we honor his legacy, celebrate the lives impacted through mentoring, and embrace our future through the Promise Neighborhood model—empowering young leaders to create lasting change in their communities."
In my office, I have the picture of the man who founded MentorKids 25 years ago, Orv Krieger. I did not know Orv personally (he passed away in 2003, two years before I joined MentorKids) but I keep his picture to remind me of a few important things.
First, we stand on the shoulders of giants who have gone before us.
While Orv spearheaded the founding of the organization in 1997, he did it in collaboration with many of his friends, business partners, and family members. Since then, so many amazing people and groups have come around the ministry as board members, staff members, financial supporters, prayer partners, volunteers, ministry partners, and business partners. During this special 25th year celebration, we wish to honor the people and groups God has used to build, sustain, and grow MentorKids over the years.
Second, MentorKids does not belong to me.
In fact, it didn’t belong to Orv either. At age 78, at the tail end of his successful business career, God touched Orv’s heart in a powerful way.
Orv felt a passion to reach young people in an effort to keep them out of prison so that they could live healthy, productive lives and live out their full, God-given potential through one-on-one mentoring. Fueled by this passion and calling, Orv founded Phoenix MatchPoint, which was renamed MentorKids USA in 2004. Orv knew, and I remind myself every day, that our calling comes from God and this ministry belongs to God. As we honor those who came before us, we also want to celebrate the new calling God has given MentorKids to impact lives through the Promise Neighborhood model.
Third, when God calls, we can step out in faith.
Orv was 78 when he founded MatchPoint. 78! Think about that. He could have made many excuses to NOT start a nonprofit. He could have spent his time with his wife, Mary, visiting his 12 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren, golfing, or, quite frankly, doing whatever he wanted.
But God called him...and he stepped forward in faith at age 78. Today, 25 years later, we sense a strong and clear calling to move forward with the Promise Neighborhood model of building up young leaders who are equipped to impact their own neighborhoods, creating a cycle of positive sustainable change within struggling neighborhoods.
As we turn 25 years old, we invite you to join us as we honor the past, celebrate the present, and step forward in faith toward an exciting and powerful future. Throughout the year we will have several hands-on and “out of the box” opportunities to engage in new ways with MentorKids. We encourage you (and ourselves) to “be like Orv” and step out in faith as, together, we change the world: One Child, One Family, One Neighborhood at a time.
Aaron Parrott, Executive Director