TYLER, Texas — The Mentoring Alliance hosted its annual “Celebrate the One” luncheon at the CrossWalk Conference Center at Green Acres Baptist Church.

The event brought together community leaders, businesses, and church partners with one goal: to raise $450,000 to fund mentoring programs, after-school care, and summer camps for children from low-income families.

The Mentoring Alliance partners with more than 60 churches and hundreds of college students, building relationships and investing in the next generation of East Texans.

President and CEO Matt Edwards said those investments are producing measurable results in the classroom.

“The reading levels in the summertime. In a lot of cases we’ve eliminated the summer slide,” Edwards said. “Kids that used to be behind the curve are now at

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