In an effort to thank the thousands of new and continuing mentors in the Miami-Dade area, the Governor s Mentoring Initiative is partnering with the Miami Heat professional basketball team to provide a variety of incentives to mentors and mentees in the area. The Heat will also help promote mentoring by featuring information on the Governor s Mentoring Initiative on the Heat s web site and by promoting mentoring at each of its remaining home games. Tickets to the Miami Heat games will be distributed by the Miami Mentoring Resource Center, the lead agency for the Governor s Mentoring Initiative in Florida. The Resource Center will also hold a raffle for mentors and mentees interested in participating in the Heat basketball clinic. Mentors interested in applying for the Youth Mentor of the Year award must act soon.
Applications require the mentor and the mentee to give a brief description of their relationship.
The Miami Heat mentoring partnership is made possible through a sponsorship by the Florida Lottery, which itself is dedicated to maximizing its contributions to education. To demonstrate the agency s commitment to education, Lottery Secretary David Griffin joins employees to mentor children through local schools. Governor Bush announced his Mentoring Initiative in August 1999. Under the leadership of the Governor and Lt. Governor Frank Brogan, and in coordination with Florida s state agencies, businesses, nonprofit organizations and Florida schools, this initiative is designed to help students excel in school.