MISSION STATEMENT
Sister to Sister is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization which is entrusted by the community of Montclair, New Jersey to actively foster safe and nurturing relationships between Montclair Public School female students and caring female mentors. Through these relationships, Sister To Sister hopes to inspire its participants with the highest ideals of character, conduct and educational achievement, so that they may become productive, resourceful and empowered leaders of their communities.
PROGRAM HISTORY
Developed by our dearly departed Adele Clark Katz in the fall of 1998 as a program of the YWCA of North Essex County (formerly known as the Little Y of the YMCA on Park Street), the program began with five high school girls from Montclair, Bloomfield and Belleville and four adult mentors. In the Fall of 2002, Sister to Sister moved permanently to Montclair High School.
Sister to Sister has grown over the years. At the request of the Montclair Board of Education, we included an 8th grade program in Montclair's three middle schools in 2006. To ease the transition to middle school we added a 5th grade program at Charles H. Bullock Elementary School in 2014. We extended our middle school program to include 6th and 7th grade in January 2015, and expanded our 5th grade program to Hillside Elementary School in January 2017. Our elementary program now includes 4th grade, providing uninterrupted mentoring to young female students in 4th grade through high school.
Our innovative after-school program has now served over 600 female students. Sister to Sister's high school students help mentor students in 4th grade through 8th grade, and help them transition to the next grade and/or school each academic year
OUR SUCCESS
The success of our program speaks for itself, as many of our Sister To Sister alumnae return as either mentors or guest speakers. They feel a sense of need to give back so much of what Sister To Sister has given them. The sharing of some of their educational, career and personal life experiences help spark the curiosity of the younger generations of Sister To Sister, which helps them harness a sense of connection, hope, courage and inspiration.
“I consistently reflect upon the impact that STS has made in my life—the relationships I’ve gained, the lessons I’ve learned and how that has shaped my growth. My ability to navigate through college and my career with confidence and class is a direct result of me being part of STS. Knowing how important this group was for me and my successful and ambitious growth, I knew I had to give back by serving as a mentor. ”
What We've Achieved
Our mentees have been recognized for their achievements by Montclair High School during award ceremonies, sports banquets, and other programs.
The young women in our program consistently graduate on time and have attended some of the most reputable and prestigious collegiate institutions in the United States and have gone on to highly regarded graduate programs.