Hamilton County signed up 456 mentors for the state's tnAchieves program this year, surpassing its goal by 18 percent.
The Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce staff led Tennessee in the goal to recruit mentors for the 3-year-old program that pairs high school seniors with professionals and other volunteers to ease the transition from high school to college.
"The Chattanooga Chamber staff and volunteers have been absolutely essential to our mentor recruitment efforts," said Graham Thomas, deputy director of Engagement and Partnerships for tnAchieves. "They were out preaching it and selling it everywhere they go-on all their company visits, with all of their membership, putting it into newsletters. We see that from a lot of chambers, but Chattanooga really took the lead this year."
Employers with the most local mentor volunteers included Chattanooga State Community College; BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee; Unum; the Hamilton County Department of Education and Hamilton County employees together; and the Chattanooga Chamber of Commerce staff.
Jeana Lee, Community Relations Specialist at Unum, has served as a mentor since the program's inception. She said she has had different experiences with each class of students but recalls a success story that "definitely sold me on the program."
"I had this one mentee my first year who really, really needed me," Lee said. "She wasn't doing well in school. She was going to have to take remedial courses at Chattanooga State, and she was really stressed out about that whole process. Encouraging her along the way was really great, and we've stayed connected."
Today, Lee's mentee attends the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, where she is earning a marketing degree.
The Chattanooga Chamber has made support for education and workforce preparedness a key goal of the business group. Serving 22 high schools and 25 middle schools in the county, the Chamber administers six programs designed to engage members in fostering knowledge and skills that students will take with them into college and the workforce.