Arlan Berglass

After volunteering for 211, Arlan realized that there just are not enough social service organizations to go around. It occurred to him that we can do everything we want to do if people just stepped up and realized that they can make a positive difference in other people’s lives. After the EmpowerLA resolution passed the Los Angeles School Board, inspiring parents and grandparents to help during volunteer recognition week with a kickoff event at the Rose Bowl called "Celebrate LA" and ending with Big Sunday (the Mayors day of service, the Pass It On Student Mentoring Program where older students mentor younger students was created. Although these students are only one year apart, they may be two or three years apart in a certain subject such as reading or math. The concept is that giving every student 4th through 12th grade the opportunity to have a mentor and to be a mentor. Therefore, the Pass It On Student Mentoring Program after-school program was created.

The Pass It On Student Mentoring Program includes the Pass It On Mentoring Connection Game. It is an after-school program from 3-5pm for any students that wish to be a mentor or to have a mentor. The game has been re-produced by Redmat Publishing who is getting ready to distribute it to 83,000 schools nationwide over the next 5 years. Hopefully children in America will be mentoring students in third world countries on their $100 laptops. In order to make this happen, a "Pass It On" collaborative has been formed, which includes Junior Achievement, Roots and Shoots, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Boys and Girls Clubs, Los Angeles Unified School District, Partnership for Los Angeles Schools (Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's program), Los Angeles Unified School District Volunteer Program, Youth Mentoring Connection, Children Uniting Nations, Catholic Big Brothers Big Sisters, Jewish Big Brothers Big Sisters, Educare Foundation, LA Team Mentor, Fulfillment Fund and everyone else working with the youth that want to promote Passing It On. Learn it, Live it, Pass it on!

The fact that a young student realizes that they can actually make a positive difference in another student's life is very inspiring. The fact that a student has a mentor that believes in them is encouraging. The mentor is trained to constantly be giving the protégé rewards for their acts of kindness. Students are realizing that they can become popular for doing acts of kindness!