- By: Danyelle Little, Young Black Professional Guide
- January 18, 2011
You can never underestimate the power of a great mentor. Mentoring is not only a way to help achieve success, but also allows one to give back to their professional genre and community. People who serve as mentors help propel their mentees to new heights by taking them under their wings and helping them to develop their talent organically. We tend to think of mentor-ship in the professional capacity, but mentoring can also work as a much needed assistance to young children in the community.
According to the National Mentoring Month official website, “National Mentoring Month is a time each year when our national spotlights the importance of mentors and the need for every child to to have a caring adult. When you serve as a mentor, you enrich your own life as much as you do the life of a child.”
National Mentoring Month was created by Harvard School of Public Health in 2001 and is celebrating its 10th anniversary this month. “By focusing national attention on the need for mentors, as well as how each of us—individuals, businesses, government agencies, schools, faith communities and nonprofits—can work together to increase the number of mentors, we assure brighter futures for our young people.”
You can become a mentor in a number of niches including schools, community, and business. To learn about mentoring opportunities in your area, you can visit mentoring.org.
In addition, Martin Luther King. Jr., Day has been recognized as a National Day of Service and would be a great day to spread the message about mentoring. There are a variety of ways you can champion the mentor-ship effort by organizing a mentoring project and forming teams to volunteer—there is no better way than to serve on the King holiday and support mentoring.
Do your part this month by becoming a mentor for the youth in your neighborhood or community. Together, we can all make an important difference to the future.
