Youth Eastside Services (YES) will receive a $5,000 grant from Washington State Mentors (WSM) and the Bank of America Charitable Foundation.

In all, 14 organizations across Washington have received grants totaling $75,000.

The Bank of America Mentoring Initiative is funded by the Bank of America Charitable Foundation and administered by WSM.

“This partnership is a wonderful example of what can be accomplished when corporations and non-profits join forces to support young people,” said Lieutenant Governor Brad Owen, who is co-chair of the Issaquah-based non-profit. “These grants are awarded to outstanding mentoring organizations that are serving youth living in poverty all across Washington State,”

Bank of America Mentoring Initiative grantees are selected through a competitive grant process.

In order to apply for a Bank of America Mentoring Initiative grant, organizations have to meet a set of minimum quality assurance standards including background checks for all volunteer mentors, adherence to at least 70 percent of the Elements of Effective Practice for mentoring programs.Additionally, at least 51 percent of the youth served by the mentoring program must be from low- to moderate-income households.