National Mentoring Month

January 25, 2007 marks the annual “Thank Your Mentor Day,” which many mentoring programs select as a day of volunteer recognition. Do you remember your first mentor and how much they helped you get to where you are today? Maybe you still keep in touch with your mentor, and if so, be sure to thank them this month. Also, there’s no better time to consider becoming a mentor yourself. There are several organizations that offer mentoring programs. To be a mentor, you don’t need any special skills—just an ability to listen and to offer friendship, guidance, and encouragement to a young person growing up today. Children are like sponges- they soak up everything put in front of them. I, for one, would rather they be influenced by an ambitious YBP than the video vixens shown on BET. And you’ll be amazed by how much you will get out of the experience. Being a role model and guiding a young person’s life is very rewarding. To find mentoring programs in your community that need volunteers, visit MENTOR. So, share what you know. Become a mentor.

National Mentoring Month (NMM) highlights mentoring and the positive impact it can have on young lives. Spearheaded by the Harvard Mentoring Project, MENTOR and the Corporation for National and Community Service, the first-ever NMM was held in January 2002. This month-long outreach campaign focuses national attention on the need for mentors, as well as how each of us – individuals, businesses, government agencies, schools, faith communities and nonprofits – can work together to increase the number of mentors and assure brighter futures for our young people. Music impresario Quincy Jones will be honored as the first-ever “Mentor of the Year” as a highlight of the sixth annual National Mentoring Month (NMM) campaign.

Also, check out this new book filled with mentoring inspiration. In, A Hand to Guide Me, Boys & Girls Clubs of America spokesperson Denzel Washington shares the positive influences from his boyhood which helped to shape and guide him. More than 70 legends and leaders also reflect on the mentors who made a dramatic difference in their lives.