YMCA News:January marks the 15th annual National Mentoring Month, and The Family YMCA Reach and Rise Mentoring Program is participating in this campaign aimed at expanding quality mentoring opportunities to connect more of our community’s young people with caring adults.
Research has shown, time and again, that there is a powerful mentoring effect demonstrated by the experiences of young people who are connected to a mentor in their daily life.
Mentoring is linked to improved academic, social and economic prospects for your people, and that ultimately strengthens the community, as well as the people who live in it.
When matched through a quality mentoring program, mentors can play a powerful role in providing young people with the tools to make responsible decisions, stay focused and engaged in school, and reduce or avoid risky behavior like skipping school, drug use and other negative activities.
For example, in a recent national report called The Mentoring Effect, young people who were at-risk for not completing high school but who had a mentor were 55 percent more likely to be enrolled in college than those who did not have a mentor.
They also were:
- 81 percent more likely to report participating regularly in sports or extracurricular activities;
- 78 percent more likely to volunteer regularly in their communities; and
- More than twice as likely to say they held a leadership position in a club or sports team.
This same report found that one in three young people in our country will grow up without a mentor. Today, in our community there is NO LESS than 16 kids who could benefit from having a mentor. These 16 children are just waiting and hoping for someone to care.
As we focus on engaging more community members in volunteering as mentors, we will share a simple message: Mentor IN REAL LIFE. Mentoring relationships are basic human connections that let a young person know that they matter, and mentors frequently report back that their relationships make them feel like someone is there to help them make the right choices in life.
National Mentoring Month is led by MENTOR: The National Mentoring Partnership and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, with support from the Highland Street Foundation. Each year since its launch in 2002, National Mentoring Month has enjoyed the strong support of the president and the United States Congress.
Other prominent individuals who have participated in the campaign include: Maya Angelou, former President Bill Clinton, Clint Eastwood, Quincy Jones, Cal Ripken Jr., Bill Russell and Usher.
To learn more about the role mentoring plays in our community and to find volunteer opportunities visit www.laymca.org (under the ‘Programs and Activities’ tab, click Reach and Rise Mentoring) or contact Dianna Reichelt, Program Director at 505.662.3100 ext. 43 or reachandrise@laymca.org.