SCORE Fox Valley announces recruitment of new mentors

SCORE Fox Valley announced Wednesday an initiative to recruit new volunteers to become SCORE certified mentors.

The national nonprofit is seeking business professionals to assist clients through mentorship and education, Larry Bussow, co-chairman of SCORE Fox Valley, said in a news release from SCORE.

The Fox Valley Chapter has 110 mentors, according to the release.

Bussow described the mentor’s role as, “working with entrepreneurs to help them develop their business idea and working with SCORE clients to improve their operations, sales and profitability,” according to the release.

In 2023, Fox Valley SCORE’s dedicated team of volunteers provided 2,942 mentoring sessions and 175 local workshops with 5,132 participants.

SCORE Fox Valley received two awards earlier this year.

In February, SCORE Fox Valley was named Illinois Chapter of the Year by SCORE’s national association.

“Fox Valley increased mentoring services, local in-person workshops, workshop attendance and follow-on rates,” said Phil Brown, co-chairman of SCORE Fox Valley. “Credit goes to the entire membership and leadership teams for their continued engagement.”

In March, the Elgin Area Chamber of Commerce presented SCORE Fox Valley with its 2024 Business Partnership Award.

“We’ve collaborated with the Elgin Chamber of Commerce on many programs in recent years, so this recognition as ‘Partnership of the Year’ reflects the culmination of the work we have both invested,” Bussow said. “This is a template for how we work with chambers and other community organizations.”

The SCORE Fox Valley Chapter serves DuPage, DeKalb, Kane, Will, Kendall, McHenry, Ogle and Winnebago counties.

For information, visit foxvalley.score.org.