10 Ways to Continue National Mentoring Month All Year

National Mentoring Month may officially be over, but you can use some of the same strategies from January throughout the year to improve your program's visibility and find more mentors!

1. Use National Mentoring Month materials throughout the year by downloading and customizing the files for your specific event.
2. Strengthen your pitch by using research from your own program; talking about the cost-effectiveness of mentoring; and explaining the benefits to both mentors and mentees.
3. Social media tip: Know where your audience is by using the right keywords; e.g., on Twitter, use #mentor because it is the most relevant key word in our field.
4. Keep building on the relationships with vendors in your community (restaurants, events spaces, activity providers) by continuing to ask for donations for match activities.
5. Diversify your collaborations: work with other youth-serving organizations (ATOD or dropout prevention, youth development, mental health, extra-curricular) to highlight the value of mentoring.
6. In April, highlight mentoring during National Volunteer Week (21 - 27) by writing Op-Eds for your local media, giving certificates of appreciation from your local representatives, and having a celebration for both mentors and mentees. 
7. Social media tip: Post thank yous to existing mentors on your accounts as well as the mentors' accounts April 21 - 27 as well as throughout the year.
8. Partner with other agencies on community service projects to raise the visibility of your mentoring program and for informal recruitment opportunities.
9. In September, highlight mentoring again while communities are focusing on back-to-school activities, sharing the link between mentoring and academic achievement. 
10. Continue giving community and corporate presentations for visibility and recruitment purposes; consider partnering with other Bay Area Mentoring programs for a bigger impact!
11. BONUS! Strengthen your program staff's knowledge of mentoring through Friends for Youth's 14th annual conference, Making the Most of Mentoring.