Inspire More Mentoring in Our Community

As we move toward the close of National Mentoring Month, we continue to encourage more people to become involved in our own community by joining the mentoring movement.

If you have been inspired by the Public Service Announcements by General Colin Powell or real mentors and mentees; by the multitude of media stories about the impacts mentoring can have on a young person's life at a critical time in his development; by the recruitment cards you may have seen around town; or by someone in your own network who posted "I Am a Mentor" on January 10 or who posted on Thank Your Mentor Day on January 17 or who served the community with a mentee on Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Day of Service on January 21; but you're not ready to commit, we'd like you to consider the following questions:

1. How has mentoring made a difference in your life or in your community?
2. If you had a mentor, how did this person or people make you feel special? How did they help you get where you are today?
3. If you were a mentor, how did you change from this relationship?
4. What do you think are challenges young people in our community face today?
5. What do you think are strengths possessed by youth in our community today?
6. Who is responsible for making sure young people become happy, healthy, successful, and productive young adults?
7. How can we work together in our community to make sure that no child is left behind and that every youth feels like she has something to offer this world?
8. How can you help - can you personally volunteer time, donate money or in-kind services or goods, or connect us to more opportunities?
9. How can people, companies, and institutions in your network help?
10. How can we let more people know that a small investment in time now becomes worth it when you see a young person thrive over time?

It's time to pass it on and become a mentor to a young person today!