New England Patriots’ Steve Gregory and Wife Rosanne Mentor Randolph Teens in Youth Venture Program

United Way of Massachusetts Bay and Merrimack Valley today announced that New England Patriots Safety Steve Gregory and his wife Rosanne have signed on as ambassadors for United Way's Emerging Leaders Program.  The Gregorys will mentor a team of Randolph High School students as part of the Youth Venture Program, which inspires and invests in teams of young people to launch projects that create positive, lasting change in their communities. The Gregorys will host their first meeting with the Randolph teens on Tuesday, December 18th at Randolph High School to discuss the team's goal to create a local youth center.

The partnership with Steve and Rosanne Gregory was developed through United Way's Emerging Leaders Program, which engages civic-minded young professionals through volunteer opportunities and leadership development. Teens enrolled in Youth Venture are matched with a group of Emerging Leaders volunteers who lend their skills and expertise to help local kids foster and achieve their own civic-minded endeavors. The Gregorys will serve as ambassadors for the Emerging Leaders as the program continues to engage Boston area young people around mentoring and volunteerism.

"Growing up in New York City, I was a regular at our after school programs and benefited from the support of great mentors," Steve Gregory said. "Rosanne and I are long time advocates for mentoring and we love working with young people, so our involvement with United Way and the Emerging Leaders is a natural fit. We're excited to get more involved with our new community here in Massachusetts and look forward to helping the Randolph teens realize their vision of creating a youth program for their peers."

The Randolph Youth Venture team is made up of nine students in 9th and 10th grade, and their goal is to help create a youth center for their peers in Randolph.  Steve and Rosanne first spoke with the students about their plan earlier this month, offering support and feedback.  The team was granted $1,000 seed money to fund further development of their idea after presenting their plan to a Youth Venture panel of local business executives and entrepreneurs.  The Gregorys will continue to work with the Randolph teens on implementation through periodic conference calls and check-ins.  At the end of the year, participating Youth Venture teams are honored at the Emerging Leaders gala.

Steve Gregory plays Safety for the New England Patriots. He was signed by the Patriots in March 2012, following 6 years playing for the San Diego Chargers.  While in San Diego, Gregory formed the "SG Squad," a nonprofit foundation whose goal is to promote fitness, education and healthy lifestyles for the students, educators and administrators of the San Ysidro School District, an area south of San Diego. In 2008, Gregory received a President's Volunteer Service Award from the President's Council on Physical Fitness for his work with the SG Squad.  Steve played football at Syracuse University and is originally from Brooklyn, New York.

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About Emerging Leaders

United Way's Emerging leaders program engages civic-minded young professionals through volunteer opportunities, leadership development, and social networking events. With the launch of our Youth Venture program, we lend our own business skills as a resource to help local kids foster and achieve their own civic-minded endeavors. For more information visit http://el.supportunitedway.org/.

About Youth Venture

United Way's Youth Venture program inspires and invests in teams of young people, ages 12-18, to start social projects or business ventures that create positive, lasting change in their communities.  Teens enrolled in Youth Venture are matched with a group of volunteers who guide them in creating a business plan, learning presentation skills and shaping their ideas.

About United Way of Massachusetts Bay & Merrimack Valley

One of the region's largest nonprofits, United Way's work ensures that children enter school ready to learn, youth stay engaged in school so they graduate with options for the future, and parents attain financial stability. No other single organization has the scope, expertise, and influence to bring together hundreds of human services agencies, government, businesses, private foundations and dedicated volunteers around a common vision of creating maximum impact and achieving long-lasting results.