For Immediate Release

-more-
Contact: Elizabeth Braker
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Office of Minority Health
Department of Health and Human
Services
Phone 888-765-4321
Fax 888-765-4300
Email: brak8333@omh.ushhs.gov
200 Independence Avenue, SW
Washington, D.C. 20201
Office of Minority Health
Department of Health and
Human Services
Press Release
MENTORING MINORITY YOUTH ON ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES
Breaking Down Barriers of Social and Economic Inequality in U.S.
PASCO, Washington, (January 15, 2016) The Department of Health and Human
Services announced today that it will fund a pilot program for mentoring college-bound
minority high school students in the Tri-Cities area.
The Minority Mentoring and Conservation Collaborative (MMCC) program will use the
$12.9 million grant to promote science-based community outreach and volunteerism during the
2016-17 academic school year. A Pasco-based outreach staff will launch a pilot program that
will eventually span three additional metropolitan areas across the country over the next several
years.
The MMCC will begin community outreach activities such as neighborhood cleanups this
spring and summer to promote greater understanding of science topics among elementary and
middle-school students. However, the greater impact in Pasco will be the advancement of the
health, safety and well-being of participating youth through mentorship opportunities where
they will learn to make prudent life-style choices and develop leadership, communication and
team-working skills.
The MMCC in Pasco will provide the first step in a national strategy to bring more
minorities into the field of environmental conservation. The program will stress academic rigor
and support extracurricular activities in public school systems serving minority youth. Students
who successfully complete the MMCC program will be eligible to participate in a four-year
work-study mentorship program in the Environmental Conservation or Natural Resources
Management Programs at Washington State University.
This initiative will provide an avenue for Tri-Cities minority residents to take ownership of
environmental conservation efforts, especially in urban conservation. Through service learning
projects, Tri-Cities youth, their parents, and community members will participate in reviving
News Release p. 2 Minority Mentoring Pilot Program

neighborhood parks and greenspaces, which not only serve as recreational areas, but also as
ecosystems for native plants and animals.
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The Minority Mentoring and Conservation Collaborative (MMCC) is a multi-year, multi-
partner initiative funded through the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The
MMCC is part of the HHS Action Plan to Reduce Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities by
emphasizing approaches that are evidence-based and will have a large-scale impact on our
society. The vision of the HHS Disparities Action Plan is: A nation free of disparities in health
and health care.