09 Jan January: National Mentoring Month
January 2013 marks the 12th anniversary of National Mentoring Month, an annual campaign to recruit volunteer mentors for young people.
Mentors, backed by quality mentoring programs, play a powerful role in preventing substance abuse and youth violence, as well as boosting academic achievement and workforce readiness. Studies have shown a more than 250 percent return on a $1 investment in mentoring and a myriad of quality of life benefits to the mentor, too. Mentors help build young people’s character and confidence, expand their universe and help them navigate pathways to successful adulthood. Despite this proven impact, the gap between the number of mentors and the number of young people who need a mentor is still too large. While three million young people have a mentor, 15 million need a caring adult mentor in their lives.
For additional information about National Mentoring Month, visit SERVE.gov/MENTOR. For more information and resources on quality youth mentoring and MENTOR’s network of Mentoring Partnerships and programs, visit www.mentoring.org or contact Prestige.