Our Commitment to Diversity

Hey Mentor stands in solidarity with our Black, Indigenous, and Students of Color (BIPOC) and their communities, both domestic and international, and the movement towards social justice and racial equity. We condemn all forms of racism and racial discrimination—individual, institutional, and systemic—and acknowledge our responsibility to work towards dismantling these at every level of our organization.

 

As a mentorship nonprofit whose mission is to support underserved students in navigating pathways to higher education, we aim to hold ourselves more accountable in addressing the needs particular to our BIPOC students. To do our part in creating a future of equitable access to higher education, it is a priority for us to actively increase accessible mentorship support, educational pathways, and opportunities for all BIPOC students. We are committed to developing strategies that empower, transform, and uplift students and their communities as we continue to grow and expand our reach.  

 

We at Hey Mentor strive to go beyond just words in standing in solidarity. Statements can be meaningful, but significant change is a result of purposeful, well informed action. We recognize that in order to serve a catalyst for the change necessary in our communities, Hey Mentor pledges to:

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• Acknowledge that racism is embedded into our society and systems of power, and that we, as a nonprofit organization, must continuously educate ourselves to be agents of positive and impactful transformation.

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• Listen intently and not speak over Black voices from our students, leaders, and community members. Hey Mentor strives to amplify voices of the Black community and those who are challenging systems built on white supremacy, while doing our own work within our organization to be actively anti-racist. 

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• Design educational curriculum and training materials for both mentors and mentees that unpacks anti-racism and implicit biases within ourselves to better serve our students.

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• Hold workshops, events, and spaces for discussion that address systemic racism in education and accurately reflect the needs of our BIPOC students. 

                                                     

• Share resources with tangible action items that are committed to shifting our present conditions towards actions of justice. 

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• Call on all those involved with Hey Mentor to educate themselves in ways to dismantle exploitative systems of oppression, raise and direct funds to organizations centered on these missions, and collectively work to advocate for BIPOC communities through legislative action. 

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• Regularly revisit and update these commitments to evaluate our progress towards these ideals, acknowledging that this is a lifelong journey not only for us as an organization, but as the individuals that represent it. 

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We stand firmly alongside our BIPOC students and community members, together in solidarity to enact a visionable future of justice. In order to combat racism and other characteristics historically linked to discrimination or exclusion, Hey Mentor is dedicated to making our organization safe, equitable, and anti-racist so that every member of our community, regardless of race, religion, gender, socio-economic status, and more, can thrive.