MTB Impact Infographic

Slide 1

Mission

More Than Bootstraps (MTB) is a non-profit organization founded by educators who understand the significant obstacles that first-generation college students face on their journey into and through higher education. To succeed, they need more than bootstraps.

Slide 2

COVID-19 exacerbated inequality in higher education, particularly for first generation, low income students.

First-time fall enrollment in higher education is down 20% for Latinx students.

Many students struggled to balance remote learning with... Food Insecurity and Housing Insecurity.

25,350 (out of 195,000 college students surveyed) Latinx students report losing a loved one to COVID.

Typically more than half of the ambitious enterprising students who find their way from low-income communities into higher education find themselves in debt and without a degree at the end of six years.

Slide 3

Our Program:

Near-Peer Mentorship: The college student leaders (our mentors) are uniquely qualified to understand and motivate their younger peers in the Passaic community.

Stipend Support for Program Participants: The MTB stipend frees up some of the students' time to devote to themselves and the MTB community.

Parent Engagement: We help the families understand the demands and potential benefits of higher education so that they support the college-going success of the young people in More than Bootstraps.

Slide 4

Program Highlights

Weekly: College student leaders meet with their high school fellow mentees and folow a curriculum of activiites.

Monthly: The full group convenes for online workshops and guest presentations.

Other Activities: Our 2021 Martin Luther King Jr. Day event featured gues speaker, Jessica Gonzales, a PHS grad and first-generation student, who now works as an analyst for the US Justice Department.

Slide 5

Students Served

2020-2021
6 High School Fellows (Juniors)
5 College Student Leaders

2021-2022
10 High School Fellows (Juniors)
6 High School Fellows (Seniors)
8 College Student Leaders

All High School Fellows attended Passaic High School. During 2020-2021, our Student Leaders attended Rutgers University, Wesleyan University, The College of New Jersey, and William Paterson University (two students). During 2021-2022, our Student Leaders attended Passaic Community College (two students), William Paterson University(three students), Dartmouth College, Felician College, and Wesleyan University.

Slide 6

Impact Stories

Passaic High School Logo. High School Fellow and Passaic High School juniors Abigail Guitzil and Catherine Librado were accepted into and completed the Rutgers Business School Pre-College Enrichment program.

The College of New Jersey Logo. Jocelyn Gonzalez, one of the college student Leaders for MTB, was accepted into The College of New Jersey (TCNJ) Global Student Teaching Program. She will complete hald of the student teaching requirements for her major at an international school and the other half at a local school district in New Jersey.

We Represent Logo. Claudia Severino, a More thanb Bootstraps founding board member, presented at the We Represent 2021 Virtual International Exchange Conference. Claudia, a first-generation college graduate herself, was a norm-breaker. She studies broad during college in Peru as a Gilman scholar, and she taught in Colombia as a Fulbright fellow.

Rutgers Logo. Leader Johanna Lastor graduated from Rutgers University in May and has been accepted and will attend graudate school in Fall 2021 in counseling.

Slide 7

High School Fellows expressed that their involvement with More than Bootraps...

"Kept me more sane, knowing that I don't have to be perfect and take a step back when dealing with obstacles."

"Helped me to interact with others... as I have grown more confident in holding presentations with a virtual audience."

"Brought light to my situation becuase I was able to work alongside great people and it has brought me to many wonderful opportunities."

"Positively impacted my confidence in my future overall because I feel like I can share opinions more freely."

Slide 8

College Student Leaders expressed that their favorite part of More than Botstraps was...

"Developing a relationship with my mentee and learning more about how I can help with her goals."

"The overall experience of getting to mentor high school juniors because we were once in their position, and it just feels good to be able to help out."

100% of mentees find the weekly check-ins with their mentor useful.

100% of mentees felt supported by their mentors.

100% of mentees would recmmend MTB to their friends.

Slide 9

Fundraising

The total amount raised through May 2021 is nearly $90,000
104 cash donations from individuals totalling $78,310
$5,163 of in-kind donations from board members.

Institutional support includes...
$250 matching gift from the CME Group foundation
$750 from the Westfield Rotary Club
$1,000 from Temple Emanu-El
$1,500 from the Westfield Foundation
$2,500 grand from the Kearny Bank Foundation.

Slide 10

Don't ask these first-generation students to pull themselves up by their own bootstraps. Give them a hand!

Visit: www.morethanbootstraps.org/donate

$75 will cover the monthly stipend for a high school Fellow.

$300 will enable a college student to give her time and expertise to a younger peer for one month.

$1000 donation will cover the stipend for a new leader in our summer training program.