THANK YOUR MENTOR DAY IS THURSDAY, JANUARY 17, 2013

As a highlight of National Mentoring Month 2013, Thank Your Mentor Day™ will be celebrated January 17. On that day, many Americans will reach out to thank or honor those individuals who encouraged and guided them, and had a lasting, positive impact on their lives.

Thank Your Mentor Day promotes "Four Ways to Honor Your Mentor"

1. Contact your mentor directly to express your appreciation;
2. Pass on what you received by becoming a mentor to a young person in your community;
3. Make a financial contribution to a local mentoring program; and,
4. Write a tribute to your mentor for posting on the Who Mentored You? website.

You can download a Thank you card from the Campaign Marketing Materials page.

Here are 10 more ways programs can thank their mentors:

Have mentees make and send Thank-You notes to their mentors’ place of employment or home. Highlight mentors in your program’s newsletter or have your Executive Director write an Op-Ed for your local newspaper/feed highlighting the importance of NMM and thanking mentors directly. Ask your local, state, or national representatives to produce Certificates of Appreciation for each of your mentors and hold an award ceremony or other fun activity with food and entertainment for your mentors. Plan a “You Take the Cake” thank you gathering in the office with cupcakes and punch, inviting mentors and mentees as a way to thank mentors. Hold a raffle for gift cards and prizes for your mentors or ask a special donor to contribute gift cards for all your mentors. Plan a study break with food and refreshments on campus to thank your undergraduate and graduate student mentors. Mail or hand out special mementos (water bottles, t-shirts, pens, etc.) that display thanks as a gift to your mentors. Deliver breakfast to your mentors at your mentoring sites. Hold a special open house/mentor appreciating night where you can thank mentors and share more information about your program with potential volunteers. Post a thank you message on your social media accounts and post a thank you message on your mentors’ accounts, if you’re linked. Thanks to Mass Mentoring Partnership for several of these ideas.

*Thank Your Mentor Day™ is an initiative of the Harvard School of Public Health.