At Year Up, we have helped thousands of students rise from poverty into a professional career in a single year.

At Year Up, our students - low income 18-24 year olds - come to us having already faced substantial obstacles in life. They are not in search of a handout; what they want most of all is the ability to take ownership of their own futures.

Years ago, as I was beginning my professional career on Wall Street, I volunteered as a Big Brother in New York City.

Year Up for me is a year in which the young adults that we serve have an opportunity to move up in their lives and gain the access and opportunity they need to realize their potential.

As we say at Year Up all the time, investing in our young people is not just a matter of economic justice. It's good business sense.

Mentors provide professional networks, outlets for frustration, college and career counseling, general life advice, and most importantly, an extra voice telling a student they are smart enough and capable enough to cross the stage at graduation and land their first paycheck from a career pathway job.