The Television Academy community outreach committee ATAS Cares has joined forces with MENTOR/LAMP (Los Angeles Mentoring Partnership) to spotlight the need for positive role models among children and teens and encourage Academy members to become mentors.
For its efforts, which include a series of mentor recruitment meetings held at the Academy, ATAS Cares was honored January 27 at the “Breakfast with Champions” event at Los Angeles City Hall, one of more than twenty businesses and organizations to be so recognized. The breakfast was the third-annual mentor recognition and recruitment event, celebrating January as National Mentoring Month.
Academy manager of marketing Adam Philbin attended the breakfast on behalf of ATAS Cares chair Lynn Roth, who was unable to be present. He accepted a City of Los Angeles “Champion of Mentoring” certificate of commendation from City Councilman Tom LaBonge, in whose 4th District the Academy is located, paying tribute to the Academy for its support.
"It was an honor to be there and to receive this from Council member LaBonge,” Philbin said afterward. “It’s a privilege to work with the Los Angeles Mentoring Partnership to spread the word about the wonderful opportunity to become a mentor.”
Fox 11 News anchor Christine Devine emceed the event. Champion athletes on hand to describe the importance of mentors in their own lives included International Olympic Committee member/Olympic rowing bronze medalist Anita DeFrantz, Olympic gold medal swimmer John Naber, boxer Paul Gonzales and basketball silver medalist Ann Meyers.
The most recent Academy mentor recruitment meeting was held March 8. “We’re unbelievably proud that the ‘Champion of Mentoring’ certificate was given to us. We’re still at the very early planning stages in our mentoring effort and hope to build it to be something quite substantial,” Lynn Roth said. “We’re continuing to bring in new mentors, who in turn are bringing innovative ideas to mentoring.”
