Judge Judy credits Her Honor program with making her 'hopeful' for the next generation

Judge Judy Sheindlin recently announced that she’s "rewiring" and letting son Adam Levy take the reins of TV courtroom drama, but she has plenty of other projects to keep her busy.

The Her Honor Mentoring program she helped co-found just celebrated its 20-year anniversary.

Sheindlin founded the program with her daughter Nicole Sheindlin to empower young women through mentorship and professional development.

For the past two decades, Her Honor Mentoring has welcomed approximately 2,500 participants; 1,500 mentees, selected from 31 high schools across the region, and more than 1,000 mentors from 400 organizations and businesses.

"I’m so happy to be here 20 years after our freshman year," Sheindlin told Fox News Digital.

The project , she said, "started off with a dream" and all they could do was hope it was successful.

The first class held only eight or nine women, whereas the most recent class in September saw over 100.

JUDGE JUDY SHARES THE BEST PIECE OF PROFESSIONAL ADVICE SHE EVER RECEIVED AHEAD OF HER HONOR EVENT "It’s the combination of the mentoring and the financial part of it – which is the girls get paid for working… and learning how to dress for success, learning about making first impressions, learning how to manage your money and just knowing how to grow up financially prepared to be an adult," Sheindlin told Fox News Digital .

The project, she said, is "simple, but satisfying." And she's been impressed and inspired by the young participants' drive to succeed.

"This small cohort makes me hopeful," Sheindlin said.

"I think that you become jaded when you see so much dysfunction.

I’ve been around so much adult dysfunction and juvenile dysfunction, that to see young people still hoping and dreaming, wanting to work hard to realize their dream that their journey on this Earth is positive and fulfilling, makes you feel good.

It sort of renews your faith that probably the vast majority of people are like these young women.

That they want their lives to be productive and happy and fulfilling." Several of the former mentees have come back as mentors after starting their careers.