The Make a Difference L.A. Steering Committee represents a large and diverse group of collaborative partners from the corporate and nonprofit community:

· Amgen· Bank of America
· Capital Group Companies
· Catholic Big Brothers/Big Sisters
· Clear Channel Communications
· Connect LA
· Creative Artists Agency
· Entertainment Industry Foundation
· Ernst & Young
· The Fulfillment Fund

The goals of this program are to:

• To increase public awareness of opportunities for direct service as volunteer mentors
• To increase private and public sector participation in mentoring, academic mentoring and literacy programs
• To increase business participation in community leadership programs such as the Riordan Volunteer Leadership Development Program
• To publish and support best practices for business participation in mentoring, academic mentoring and literacy programs.

Graduates of the Riordan Volunteer Leadership Development Program, a program of the Los Angeles Junior Chamber of Commerce, will serve as "ambassadors" for the program. RVLDP is a leadership program that prepares young professionals for leadership roles in the nonprofit community. These ambassadors will ask businesses in the Los Angeles area to create volunteer mentor recruitment and support campaigns for their employees.

Make a Difference L.A. promises to substantially increase the number of high quality volunteer mentors who serve in the LAUSD Beyond the Bell Mentor Program. It will also enhance the workforce skills of the volunteers and give them and their employers a chance to make a positive difference in our community by serving our at-risk youth.