About Us

The Mindful Mentorship Foundation promotes creativity, mindfulness, and positive relationships for youth in underserved communities through interactive mentorship sessions in the Greater Los Angeles area.

Our Story

Starting in 3rd-grade, each of us (Cam, Cary, Lara, and Reagan--the four founders) joined an Odyssey of the Mind team led by our awesome 2nd-grade Pacific Elementary School teacher (shout out to Michelle Lautanen). Our teams competed for three years and had a blast collaborating in creative problem-solving activities. When our oldest founders entered sixth grade in 2021, we decided that we would become Odyssey Angels, an Odyssey of the Mind program that challenges individuals to use their imagination and critical thinking to help a part of their community that is typically overlooked. For three years, we were Odyssey Angels, with our final Odyssey Angels project being a mentorship program where we partnered with the Richstone Family Center to share the creative and collaborative skills we enjoyed in our Odyssey experience with the students in Richstone's Kids Club.

Through our mentorship sessions with Richstone, we grew even more aware that youths in our wider community did not have the resources to access programs that had been (and continue to be) influential in our mental and physical health and development. Additionally, we wanted to continue to build our strong relationships with the Richstone students, cementing those mutually positive relationships. So, in 2024, we decided to continue our mentorship program with Richstone and also to expand our reach by partnering with Title 1 schools in our wider community. In doing this, we created the Mindful Mentorship Foundation to bring the programs that have so positively influenced and empowered us to underserved youths in our wider community.

Our Goals

Accessibility:

Increase access to creative and collaborative activities, as well as wellness resources, to youth ages 6-12 in underserved communities and school districts that have been unable to take advantage of such opportunities for lack of resources.

Mindfulness:

Teach tools to healthfully soothe and calm oneself, self regulate, handle adversity in a positive manner, and build empathy for others’ mental health struggles, in addition to providing available mindfulness resources.

Positive Relationships:

Present our mentees with positive role models (us and our volunteers!) who care for them and who will provide them with a consistent mentoring relationship through regular sessions.

Youth Empowerment:

Give young people tools to lead healthy lives, grow their confidence, and positively impact others.