january declared national mentoring month

President Barack Obama declared January to be National Mentoring Month (http://www.nationalmentoringmonth.org) in December 2010 to celebrate individuals who guide the Nation’s youth through their impressionable early years.

College Mentors for Kids, along with several other partner organizations around the Midwest, is proudly joining the country in celebration of National Mentoring Month.

“There is no greater reward than watching someone who you have mentored personally and professionally succeed,” Erin Slater, College Mentors for Kids’ CEO and past mentor said. “National Mentoring Month helps mentors to remember the impact they are having on kids. It’s a good way to keep them energized, and to let them know they really are making a difference.”

National Mentoring Month was originally started in 2002 by the Harvard School of Public Health in partnership with MENTOR, a national organization dedicated to promoting and advocating for mentoring initiatives throughout the world, in an effort to raise awareness for the growing need for mentors in the United States.

In Indiana, the Indiana Youth Institute (IYI) through the Indiana Mentoring Partnership is the official partner of National Mentoring Month. College Mentors for Kids serves as a community partner of the Indiana Mentoring Partnership.

In an effort to support mentoring in Indiana, the Indiana Mentoring Partnership, the presidents of Indiana’s seven public colleges and universities, and Richard Ludwick, president of the Independent Colleges of Indiana, a collaborative effort of Indiana's 31 private universities and colleges, signed a declaration encouraging Indiana citizens to get involved with mentoring youth throughout the State.
Read the entire declaration here:

Throughout the month, there will be special volunteer events in Indiana communities, as well as opportunities to start long-term mentoring relationships with youth who need a mentor most.

For more information on specific opportunities, visit www.mentoring.org, or visit Indiana Mentoring Partnership’s website at http://www.iyi.org/indiana-mentoring-partnership.aspx to see ways to get involved in your community.

College Mentors for Kids’ associate program director and past University of Indianapolis chapter president, Curtis Ward, is happy to be part of the national mentoring movement.

“If you’ve been looking for a way to make a difference, this is it,” Ward said. “I have served as a mentor in the past, and now I’m helping others be mentors. There is nothing quite as rewarding.”