Mission
The mission of Summer Search is to find resilient low-income high school students and inspire them to become responsible and altruistic leaders by providing year-round mentoring, life-changing summer experiences, college advising, and a lasting support network.
Key Facts
Geographic areas served:
Boston, New York City, Philadelphia, Seattle, San Francisco Bay Area
Target demographics:
We select low-income high-school sophomores with three core attributes: resiliency, or the determination to navigate challenges and make connections; altruism, encompassing both service to others and gratitude; and performance, or the passion and tenacity to succeed. Students stay in the program for 2 1/2 years, through high-school graduation.
Results to date:
Each graduate of the Summer Search program demonstrates everyday leadership in three overlapping spheres: by continuing to grow and achieve their personal potential, by acting as a role model for their family and peers, and by actively drawing on their strengths, experiences, and resources to create positive change in their community and the world. Summer Search has tracked both qualitative and quantitative data to measure the leadership performance of our alumni.
Since Summer Search was founded eighteen years ago:
•100% of our students have graduated from high school.
•97% of Summer Search alumni have gone on to college.
•89% have completed college or remain enrolled and on track to do so.
•72% of our alumni are involved in service to their communities
•94% percent of Summer Search’s graduating seniors were first generation college students in 2008.
These statistics, as impressive as they are, do not begin to capture the value our program and our alumni create for other individuals or society at large, or the intangible benefits of our program to the participants (such as transformative growth in self-confidence and self-knowledge).
Direct beneficiaries per year: In 2008, we served 925 students and 1735 alumni.
Indirect beneficiaries per year: Every student and alum's families, schools, and communities ...
Your donation of $200 enables us to:
buy discounted summer program equipment for one student
Your donation of $1200 enables us to:
pays for one year of mentoring for one student
Your donation of $6500 enables us to:
put one student through our program (including summer program, mentoring, and college counseling) for one year
Board Members and Affiliation:
National Board of Directors:
Dana Emery, Chair
Executive Vice President, Dodge & Cox
Ted Williams, Vice Chair
Managing Partner, Springbok Partners
Harrison M. Bains
Former Vice President and Treasurer, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company
Cynthia Bengier, San Francisco Representative
CFO, Bengier Foundation
Cecile Delafield, Seattle Representative
Member, Washington Women’s Foundation
Mark Edwards
Managing Partner, Edwards and Company
Sally Hambrecht
Founding Board Member, Summer Search
Founder, The Friends School
Robin Klaus, North San Francisco Bay Representative
Chairman and CEO, Club One, Inc.
Jonathan Pruzan, New York City Representative
Director of Investment Banking Division, Morgan Stanley
John Read
President, Outward Bound USA
Peter Sims
Co-author, “True North”
Fredericka Stevenson
Founding Board Chair, Summer Search Boston
Bradley Svrluga, Boston Representative
Managing Director, High Peaks Venture Partners
Gregory H. Williams
President, City College of New York
John Osterweis, Trustee Emeritus
Chief Executive Officer, Osterweis Capital Management
Past and Current Funders:
Summer Search is entirely privately founded through donations from generous individuals, corporations, and foundations.
Key Staff
Linda Mornell, Founder and President
Jay Jacobs, Chief Executive Officer