ABOUT US
Dena Petty
Founder
Mentor’s Care is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization founded by Dena Petty in 2009 as a Texas non-profit corporation named Movement Toward a Future, Incorporated. Everything in this program and what we hope to accomplish is based on what Petty wished she had as a kid growing up in a very dysfunctional environment. The goal of Mentors Care is to give students what they need, not only to graduate but to live their lives to their fullest potential.
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Petty has worked and created this program from the ground up, learning hard lessons along the way. Now, we are seeing the traction and the impact of Mentors Care growing and becoming an unstoppable force in the lives of so many students AND the volunteers who mentor them! Our staff and board members have supported the program wholeheartedly from day one and remain true to the mission today.
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Visit denapetty.com to learn more about our founder's mission!
Why We Exist
We have a significant population of students in our high schools who are susceptible to failing or not graduating due to homelessness, impoverishment, poor support systems, failed classes in previous years, poor attendance, incarcerated parents, single-parent homes, peer pressure, poor judgment, and more.
Even students with loving parents and guardians can sometimes get off track. Mentors Care partners with those parents and school administrators to match students with caring mentors to help get them back onto a healthy course. Students without positive adult role models are at real risk of not graduating and often face more difficult futures.
Our mentors assure young people that someone cares for them; that they are not alone in dealing with life’s day-to-day challenges. Mentors help students know they truly matter.
Ultimately, mentoring helps propel students toward personal growth and development as well as social and economic opportunities that they might otherwise never realize.
IMPACT BY THE NUMBERS (2024-2025)
Percentage represents students enrolled in our program for at least 2 years and all students referred to our program are considered to be at risk of not graduating from high school.
92% of students earned the number of required credits
90% of students met 90% attendance rule
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