Did you ever have a mentor?

MentorFor most of us, the answer is probably yes. It may have been on your first job. It may have been a teacher in high school. Or it could have a Scout leader…or a neighbor…or a friend.

That’s why we are celebrating National Mentoring Month, spearheaded by a great nonprofit organization appropriately called Mentor and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

Inaugurated in 2002, National Mentoring Month is dedicated to a great idea – that every kid in America deserves a mentor.

That’s a thought enthusiastically embraced by many Junior Leagues across the country, in a wide range of applications, including self-esteem programs for teen girls. Consider these examples:

How the Junior Leagues of San Diego, Dallas, Corpus Christi, Buffalo, Wilmington (NC). Little Rock, Sioux Falls and Tulsa celebrated National Mentoring Month last year.

What the Junior Leagues in Monmouth County, Little Rock and Reading did to support National Teen Self-Esteem Month, a more recent approach to engaging mentors as well as parents and educators in giving young people an opportunity to address, boost or build their confidence.

National Teen Self-Esteem Month comes in May; another recent entry into the mentoring space is October’s United Nations International Day of the Girl, dedicated to “highlighting, celebrating, discussing, and advancing girls lives and opportunities across the globe.” All over that with mentoring-related programs were the Junior League of the Palm Beaches, the Junior League of the City of New York, the Junior League of Ann Arbor, the Junior League of the Lehigh Valley, the Junior League of Boise, the Junior League of Pasadena, the Junior League of Rochester, the Junior League of Lancaster and the Junior League of Austin.

Different approaches, same goal…to provide mentoring to a kid who may not otherwise get it.


 

*This article was originally published in connected, an official publication of The Association of Junior Leagues International, Inc., and has been reprinted with permission.