Organizational Historian; Volunteer

Promise Research | Organizational History, Archives & Oral History

Mentor A Promise is a New York City‑based nonprofit serving children and youth (ages 5–18) experiencing housing instability, grounded in the belief that every child is a Promise—full of potential, dignity, and possibility. We deliver consistent, high‑quality programming across mentorship, literacy, social‑emotional learning, and creative expression in shelters, schools, and community spaces, creating structured environments where students can grow, be seen, and build lasting skills.

Through signature experiences like The Imagination Studio, The Kitchen Table, The Sound Lab, and The Story Space, we nurture academic development, emotional well‑being, and creative voice, all within a trauma‑informed, culturally responsive, and accessibility‑centered framework. Our work prioritizes dignity‑protective storytelling, consent‑driven engagement, and deep community partnership, ensuring that how we serve is as intentional as whom we serve. We are not only addressing immediate needs - we are building pathways to confidence, belonging, and long‑term opportunity, so every child has the support and foundation to carry their promise forward.

Promise Research | Organizational History, Archives & Oral History

• Organization Mentor A Promise (MAP)
• Division Promise Research
• Location Remote with NYC‑based collaboration as needed
• Commitment Approximately 5–10 hours per week
• Type Volunteer Leadership Role
• Minimum Commitment 6‑month Commitment Required
• Reports To Chief of Monitoring, Evaluation, Learning & Research

About Mentor A Promise

Mentor A Promise (MAP) is a New York City‑based nonprofit organization supporting children and youth ages 5–18 experiencing housing instability through mentorship, literacy, social‑emotional learning, educational enrichment, workforce development, creative opportunity, advocacy, housing innovation, and community‑centered support.

Our history is more than a record of milestones—it is the story of people, relationships, resilience, and hope. Preserving that history ensures that future generations understand not only what we accomplished, but why the work matters.

About Promise Research

Promise Research advances learning, evaluation, and knowledge across Mentor A Promise. The division conducts research, documents organizational learning, evaluates impact, and preserves knowledge that informs programs, policy, advocacy, and continuous improvement.

Through research and historical preservation, Promise Research ensures that the experiences of children, families, volunteers, staff, and community partners become part of MAP's enduring legacy.

The Organizational Historian leads the preservation of Mentor A Promise's institutional history while helping build an ethical, trauma‑informed historical archive documenting the experiences of the communities we serve.

Working closely with leadership and cross‑functional teams, this role develops systems to preserve organizational records, collect oral histories, document major milestones, and establish historical archives that tell the story of MAP's growth and impact.

The Organizational Historian will also help build a volunteer team dedicated to documenting the broader history of youth and family housing instability through research, oral history, archival projects, and community storytelling—always with informed consent, respect, dignity, privacy, and trauma‑informed practices.

• Document the history and evolution of Mentor A Promise
• Preserve significant organizational milestones, programs, publications, and initiatives
• Maintain historical records, photographs, videos, and digital archives
• Develop archival standards and historical documentation practices
• Create timelines and historical summaries of MAP's development

• Develop ethical oral history projects documenting lived experiences
• Help preserve stories of resilience, community, and hope shared by participants, volunteers, and partners
• Ensure all historical documentation follows informed consent, privacy, safeguarding, and…