January is designated as National Mentoring Month (NMM).
Launched in 2002 by the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Mentor: The National Mentoring Partnership, NMM celebrates mentoring and recognizes the sustaining relationships that develop between mentors and mentees. It aims to raise awareness of mentoring and recruit individuals and organizations to become involved with mentoring.
Research shows that mentors play a powerful role in providing young people with the tools to make responsible choices, attend and engage in school, and reduce or avoid risky behavior. In turn, these young people are:
- 55% more likely to be enrolled in college
- 81% more likely to report participating regularly in sports or extracurricular activities
- 78% more likely to volunteer regularly in their communities
- More than twice as likely to say they held a leadership position in a club or sports team.
