When Jewish Home board member Daniel Bernstein agreed to mentor teens in the SkillSpring program, he approached the opportunity wholeheartedly. He’s delighted by the strong bonds he has built with his motivated mentees, who are on their way to becoming health care leaders.

While Danny wasn’t sure what a president of a general contracting and construction management firm would have in common with a high school student preparing for a career in health care, he always admired how for the past 18 years, The New Jewish Home’s SkillSpring program provided life-changing opportunities for young people from underserved communities. The mentoring program enables high school participants to build one-on-one relationships with professionals who can offer guidance and expose them to growth opportunities. Mentors like Danny commit to meeting with one student on a regular basis via Zoom or in person. They help students build their resumes, gain insights into the working world, and prepare for college. 

Danny was matched with SkillSpring mentee Kemar Daley, who immigrated from Jamaica in his early teens and was raised by a single mother. “We’re both interested in sports, so we would go to New York Knicks games together,” Danny said. “I would check up on how he was doing in school, where he was applying, what career path he wanted to pursue. He’s got it pretty well figured out. He knows what he wants to do, and he’s doing it. I’m proud of Kemar.”

Kemar felt apprehensive at first. “It’s hard building a connection with someone you have never met, building trust in someone you really don’t know,” he said. “Then we started becoming friends. We talked about basketball and business. We’re both interested in engineering, and it was helpful to talk to someone who went to engineering school. We talked about our goals and aspirations. He was supportive of my choice to go to nursing school.” Kemar is currently in his second year at Lehman College, where he is studying nursing; he plans to pursue a career as a nurse anesthetist.

Although their formal mentorship relationship has ended, their connection has not. “We still text each other, still hang out from time to time,” Kemar said. “When I have problems, I talk them through with Danny.”

To Kemar, the best part of the program, he said, was having someone to connect to outside of his circle of friends and family. “Danny is someone I feel comfortable expressing myself to. We could talk for hours.”

Kemar’s mother, Crystal Simpson, is an enthusiastic fan of the mentorship program. “Danny was important to Kemar in many ways,” she said. “He offered Kemar things he needed that I wasn’t in a situation to take care of as a single mom. He got someone to talk to, someone who could guide him. It was great to see them spend time together. I wish every student could have a mentor like Danny.”

When Kemar started college, Danny took on a second mentee, Emmanuel (Manuel) Vargas, who emigrated from the Dominican Republic at age 12. “I came to this country with literally nothing,” he said, “and I didn’t know any English.”

At A. Philip Randolph Campus High School, Manuel was enrolled in the Gateway to Medicine track, which has a partnership with SkillSpring. Manuel hit it off with Danny quickly. “This became such a meaningful relationship for me. We saw each other regularly. We shared many meals together. I texted him all the time, and we talked about college and family. He was impressed by my story and how fast I learned English,” he said.

Danny attended Manuel’s high school graduation and also hired Manuel for the summer.

Like Kemar, Manuel has a clear plan for his future: He wants to be a doctor. But before starting college at Utica University, he spent this past summer working at Danny’s company. “Manuel wanted to get experience in a different field,” Danny said. “Working here had nothing to do with medicine.” Manuel spent the summer doing tasks like paperwork, helping estimators, and making deliveries.

“I got to meet people with Mr. Bernstein and his son and go to work sites. It has really taught me a lot of things that will be useful for college,” Manuel said. “I’m slowly learning to become more confident making calls and communicating in general. Meeting great people like Mr. Bernstein’s son and his coworkers, I feel inspired to do more.”

For Danny, being a mentor is gratifying. “I like being around young people. It feels good to help recent immigrants, to help put them on the road to success,” he said. “I enjoy spending time with Kemar and Manuel, and hearing their stories.”

Danny’s mentees are grateful for the time and effort he invests in them. “I feel blessed,” Manuel said. “The staff members at SkillSpring say I earned it all, but I also thank them and Mr. Bernstein for choosing me for the mentorship program. I feel inspired to do the same in the future and give back. I want to change the lives of those who might be in need and those who might be walking the same path as me.”

The New Jewish Home’s SkillSpring program (formerly known as Geriatrics Career Development program) has helped teens and young adults in New York City pursue careers in health care since 2006. Program participants are immersed in long-term care settings and provide more than 8,000 hours of companionship and clinical care to older adults each year. 

Alumni from our SkillSpring program have access to resources from our Workforce program to help them meet academic and career goals. Learn more about our high school program for teens and our young adult program.

Left to Right: Daniel (Danny) Bernstein and Emmanuel (Manuel) Vargas