Our Volunteer Community

When you become a Minds Matter volunteer,  you become part of our community.

More than 100 volunteers from diverse personal and career backgrounds in Cleveland help Minds Matter achieve its mission each year.

The Minds Matter volunteer experience offers committed and caring individuals the opportunity to belong to a community of service-minded peers and build their leadership skills.

In addition to your time spent supporting our students, we organize volunteer-only activities, such as happy hours, day trips, and attending events in the city together throughout the year.

APPLY TO VOLUNTEER

MENTORING

Approximately 1.5 hours, 18-20 Saturday afternoons per school year

Mentors guide, challenge, and celebrate their student through their three years in the program. As a mentor, you'll act as a caring adult in your mentee's life, providing emotional and consistent support while sharing insight from your own journey to college and beyond.

HOW IT WORKS

Minds Matter utilizes a 2:2 mentor-mentee model: mentors work with their student alongside one other adult mentor to form a pod. Every week, pods work through the Minds Matter curriculum, which guides students through exercises to develop the hard and soft skills they need to succeed in college.

Together, mentor pods form the backbone of a student's experience in Minds Matter.

Additional Requirements 

Mentors are required to be graduates of 4-year colleges or universities. 

Mentors are required to pass a criminal background check and undergo youth protection training.

Commitment

Approximately 20 scheduled Saturday afternoons (1.5-2 hours) from September/October through May, with the exception of holiday weekends and ACT test days.

80% attendance required.

TUTORS

Commitment:

In the window of 9:30 AM - 12:30 PM,  at least 5 Saturdays per semester

Utilizing Kaplan resources, tutors work with students one-on-one or in small groups to help elevate students' ACT scores. No prior ACT expertise is required, but rather a commitment to helping the student progress. Please complete our application  if interested.

INSTRUCTORS

Commitment:

Approximately 1 hour in the morning, Saturdays during the academic year

Instructors teach ACT preparation in classroom format in various subjects, including ACT preparation and college-level critical thinking and analysis skills. We provide training and support preparation. If you are interested in becoming an instructor with Minds Matter, please contact hydepinner@mindsmattercleveland.org

WRITING COUNCILORS

Commitment:

2-4 hours a week but varies  depending on time of year,  working remotely

Writing Councilors work with students via email to review and provide feedback on student applications to summer programs, college admissions, and scholarships. Writing Councilors have the availability to review student essays via email, with an anticipated turn-around time of approximately one week. Please complete our application if interested.

LEADERSHIP TEAM

Minds Matter Cleveland relies on a committed corps of leaders in our community who help run our student-facing programming. Serving as a leadership team member offers a unique and meaningful opportunity to serve a critical role in the implementation of our program services and develop your leadership skills. Please reach out to contact@mindsmattercleveland.org for more information or submit your information via the links below.

Summer programs director

MENTOR PROGRAMMING LEAD

College Readiness Lead

Career Readiness Lead

College & Career Coach

How to Become a Volunteer

START YOUR VOLUNTEER APPLICATION

Submit your application here.

Participate in a 30-minute phone conversation and interview.

Receive a decision within one week of your interview.

Meeting with my mentees on Saturdays is the highlight of my week! They have taught me just as much as I've taught them. And it's especially meaningful to help them open up the doors that others opened up for me early in my career.