CECH Mentor & Volunteer Opportunities

Breakthrough Cincinnati is an organization that assists underrepresented students enter college with the skills, resources, and the confidence to be successful. Breakthrough offers a nine-week summer opportunity where volunteers can get paid or simply serve. During this period, you will work with inspiring and motivating middle-school student towards their college path. In addition, you will develop professional skills for a wide variety of careers while building a local and national network that will last a lifetime. Teaching and Administrative positions are available as well as Saturday school year opportunities.

Bearcat Academy is a mentorship program in partnership with Cincinnati Public Schools. This partnership aligns with UC’s CPS Strong Initiative, whose purpose is to increase the number of UC graduates for Cincinnati Public Schools. As a mentor, you will develop a relationship with a mentee and support college readiness and preparation through weekly mentoring sessions. You can earn up to 15 hours of service hours per semester! Time slots are as follows:

• Taft High School | Tuesdays 11am-11:40am
• Aiken High School | Thursday 11:30am- 12:30pm
• Hughes High School | Thursday 11am-11:45 am

UC Upward Bound is a federally funded TRiO program that provides academic skills and motivation for eligible students to graduate high school and enroll and graduate from post-secondary education.  We foster academic achievement, cultural exposure, and life success. 

The program is comprised of both an academic year (October- May) and an annual six-week hybrid summer program that offers a residential campus life experience.  Each respective component provides classroom instruction, tutoring, college readiness counseling, and cultural experiences.

During the academic year we provide volunteer opportunities for UC students interested in tutoring during our Saturday Academy from 1-3 p.m. 

This calendar closely follows the Cincinnati Public Schools and UC academic calendar.  All majors are welcome!

For our six-week hybrid summer program, we offer paid mentorship opportunities for college students. This is a residential assignment with an included meal plan.  Mentors in this role provide leadership, supervision, guidance, and tutoring for high school student groups that are typically in a 1:10 ratio. 

Triple Play is an opportunity for UC CECH alumni, faculty/staff, and upper classmen to provide current UC CECH sophomores with collegiate, professional and career guidance for the 2019-2020 school year. We want to enhance the way we professionally prepare our current students so they are better equipped with the tools and knowledge they need to thrive at UC and continue on to become a successful professional. The mentor’s responsibility and time commitment are minimal (no more than 2 contacts (i.e. call, text, email) with their mentee per month until the end of April. If anyone is interested in participating please contact Jazmin Harris.

This organization needs volunteers on Monday- Wednesday from 3:30pm-7pm to assist local CPS students with their homework assignments, provide feedback on projects, work through any areas of school that may warrant further exploration, review completed homework and check for correctness. Volunteers are needed throughout the academic semester. 

Volunteers will need to complete a volunteer training program prior to attending for the first time and will also need to have their own transportation. Ideal volunteers will be able to develop positive rapport with students, possess excellent communication skills, and have the ability to assist students in subject matters such as math and reading at grade levels 2nd-10th. 

Location: Red’s Youth Academy 2026 E Seymour Ave, Cincinnati, OH 45237