Representatives from Wal-Mart meet with members of the Mentoring Latinas program and the students they advise.
Photos by Ken Levinson

A support program that provides mentoring for local Latina students will be expanded thanks to a $35,000 gift from Wal-Mart.

Guests from the corporate retailing giant met with mentees and their Latina mentors from Fordham at a check presentation ceremony on Feb. 3 at the William D. Walsh Family Library on the Rose Hill campus.

Run by the Graduate School of Social Service, Mentoring Latinas addresses the unique challenges faced by Latina adolescents by pairing them with Latina college students who can guide and assist them, and inspire them to pursue higher education.

“The valuable work that Mentoring Latinas does would not be possible this year without the largesse of Wal-Mart,” said Ellen Silber, Ph.D., director of Mentoring Latinas. “Wal-Mart is a big company with a big heart, one that cares, as we do, about the future of adolescent Latinas.”