Middle school students in the Knoxville region face increasing social, emotional, and academic challenges, yet many lack access to consistent, supportive adult relationships. At the same time, local colleges represent an underutilized resource of potential mentors who are eager to engage in meaningful community service but often lack structured pathways to do so.

YOKE seeks to research and develop a strategic initiative to bridge this gap by creating a coordinated college campus engagement model. The proposed solution focuses on establishing a strong, sustainable pipeline of trained volunteer mentors by increasing YOKE’s presence on local campuses, including the University of Tennessee, Johnson University, Carson-Newman University, Maryville College, and Pellissippi State Community College.

Through this planning process, YOKE will assess the feasibility and impact of creating dedicated campus-based partnership hubs where staff and volunteers can recruit, train, and support college students as mentors. The initiative will also identify best practices for collaboration with campus stakeholders and develop scalable systems for volunteer engagement.

By strengthening connections between campuses and the community, this effort aims to expand access to high-quality mentoring relationships, ultimately improving student well-being and fostering positive youth development across the region.