AMP! Metro Richmond is a one-to-one mentoring program operating in T.C. Boushall Middle School in Richmond’s Southside. Mentors and students meet weekly on Tuesdays at lunchtime, forming a relationship that suits the needs of the student. Some play games. Some share common interests in sports, the arts, computers, etc. The AMP! program is a simple and flexible concept based on the belief that everyone has strengths and those strengths can be accessed and reinforced through the gift of caring and listening.
AMP!’s mentors are busy professionals who live and work all over Richmond and meet weekly with their mentees at Boushall Middle School. Mentors give support, counsel, friendship, reinforcement and a constructive example to students who want that vision. Our goal is for students to feel supported and realize their potential to achieve the very success AMP! mentors have achieved.
Mentors in the past have come from Genworth Financial, KPMG, First Market Bank, Bank of America, the Greater Richmond Chamber, University of Richmond, VCU, small businesses, nonprofits, and State agencies. All AMP! mentors undergo a background check and screening process and are required to attend training provided by MENTOR Virginia and AMP!.
Students from the 6th, 7th, and 8th grades complete a written application and, if accepted, are paired by school personnel with a mentor. Students chosen to participate in AMP! have a history of satisfactory-to-good school attendance and class participation.
Program Coordinator, Laura Leporati and Board member Christine Jewell accept an award for completing VMP's Quality Based Membership.
2006: Founded @ Chandler Middle School
2007: Incorporated as 501(c)3
2009: Moved to Henderson Middle School
2012: Awarded Outstanding Mentoring Program of the Year from Virginia Mentoring Partnership (VMP)
2015: Completed Quality Based Membership through VMP
2018: Moved to T.C. Boushall Middle School
2020: One of the first programs in the area to pivot to virtual mentoring during COVID
2021: Received Disability Mentoring Certification
2022: Returned to in-person mentoring
AMP! Students
AMP!'s Board Members accept the Outstanding Mentoring Program of the Year Award from VMP
What is AMP! Metro Richmond?
AMP!'s Past
AMP! Mentors