OUR MISSION
Teaching youth to succeed in all of life's races.
OUR HISTORY
Bolder Options was established in 1993 as a response to a community needs assessment that determined there was an urgent need for mentoring programs in the Twin Cities. The St. Paul location was officially launched in January of 2007.
A few years later, we expanded our program to the city of Rochester which was officially launched in July of 2010.
In 2018, Bolder Options expanded the alumni program, leaning on new partnerships with alumni mentor-run Quetico Foundation US to support week long trips to places like the BWCA and Montana.
Bolder Options has been recognized as an Expert Partner in mentoring by Mentor Minnesota and the National Mentoring Partnership since 2010.
HOW OUR PROGRAM WORKS
We make mentoring fun and easy. Youth and mentors meet once a week for 2-4 hours, every week, for one year. At the end of their year together, we hold graduation to celebrate the accomplishments of the youth, mentor, and both of their families.
We roughly host two events at the Bolder sites per week (often co-hosted by our youth, family, or mentors!) These programs are concentrated around four outcome areas:
LIFELONG LEARNING
We believe youth need to have a clear pathway from middle school, to high school, to their secondary education, and careers. That's why we host career nights, college tours, cultural events, art nights, and more, to inspire lifelong learning.