(Left to right) Jill Spineti, president and CEO of the Governor’s Prevention Partnership, with Kim Mauro and her mentee Natasha Nieves.

The Governor’s Prevention Partnership has selected Kim Mauro, assistant branch manager at First Niagara Bank in Manchester, for its Connecticut Mentoring Hall of Fame.

The award was established to recognize and honor individuals from a corporation or business who have committed tremendous time, energy and effort to the field of youth mentoring.

Mauro, a Manchester resident, joins 10 other individuals from corporations around the state who have been inducted into the hall of fame since it was established by the partnership in 2011.

The award was presented at a reception at the governor’s residence on June 7.

“Kim embodies the spirit of the Connecticut Mentoring Hall of Fame award,” Jill Spineti president and CEO of the partnership, said in a statement. “She is an inspiration to others through her commitment to her mentee, an advocate for young people in the community and demonstrates a significant commitment to mentoring.”

“First Niagara has long been a leader in mentoring,” she added. “It is not surprising that the bank’s culture of philanthropy has touched their employees who are motivated to get involved in mentoring programs in their local communities.”

First Niagara, through its Mentoring Matters initiative, provided funding to launch a site-based mentoring program in Manchester administered through The Partnership in collaboration with Nutmeg Big Brother Big Sisters. Since entering the Connecticut market, Boston-based First Niagara, through their foundation, has given more than $500,000 to mentoring programs statewide.