National Mentoring Month is a campaign run throughout January by MENTOR [1] and MENTOR Affiliates across the country. Launched in 2002, the campaign aims to unify and expand the mentoring movement, celebrate the power of relationships, and raise awareness around the importance of youth mentoring in the United States. [2]
Supporters and participants of National Mentoring Month include prominent nonprofit organizations, elected officials from the local, state, and federal level, and several U.S. Presidents and their administrations. [3] [4] [5]
There are a variety of ways for nonprofit organizations, corporations and businesses, elected officials, and individuals to get involved with National Mentoring Month and to drive positive change for young people.
Arbor Day is a secular day of observance in which individuals and groups are encouraged to plant trees. Today, many countries observe such a holiday. Though usually observed in the spring, the date varies, depending on climate and suitable planting season.
America's Promise Alliance is the nation's largest cross-sector alliance of nonprofit, community organizations, businesses, and government organizations dedicated to improving the lives of young people.
The National Youth Rights Association (NYRA) is a youth-led Civil and political rights organization promoting youth rights, with approximately 10,000 members. NYRA promotes the lessening or removing of various legal restrictions that are imposed on young people but not adults, for example, the drinking age, voting age, and the imposition of youth curfew laws.
The United Nations Association of the United States of America (UNA-USA) is a nonprofit grassroots organization dedicated to promoting political and public support for the United Nations among Americans. A program of the United Nations Foundation, its mission includes advocating for greater U.S. leadership at the UN, improving and enhancing the UN system, and implementing the Sustainable Development Goals and the UN Charter in both the U.S. and globally.
The National Council of Negro Women, Inc. (NCNW) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1935 with the mission to advance the opportunities and the quality of life for African-American women, their families, and communities. Mary McLeod Bethune, the founder of NCNW, wanted to encourage the participation of Negro women in civic, political, economic and educational activities and institutions. The organization was considered as a clearing house for the dissemination of activities concerning women but wanted to work alongside a group that supported civil rights rather than go to actual protests. Women on the council fought more towards political and economic successes of black women to uplift them in society. NCNW fulfills this mission through research, advocacy, national and community-based services, and programs in the United States and Africa.
World Intellectual Property Day is observed annually on April 26. The event was established by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in 2000 to "raise awareness of how patents, copyright, trademarks and designs impact on daily life" and "to celebrate creativity, and the contribution made by creators and innovators to the development of economies and societies across the globe". April 26 was chosen as the date for World Intellectual Property Day because it coincides with the date on which the Convention Establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization entered into force in 1970. World Intellectual Property Day is WIPO’s largest intellectual property (IP) public outreach campaign.
City Year is an American education nonprofit organization founded in 1988. The organization partners with public schools in 29 high-need communities across the US and through international affiliates in the UK and Johannesburg, South Africa. City Year teams are made up of 18 to 24 year olds, who provide student, classroom, and whole school support, intended to help students stay in school and on track to graduate high school. City Year is a member of the AmeriCorps national service network, and is supported by the Corporation for National and Community Service, school district partnerships, and private philanthropy from corporations, foundations and individuals.
Youth mentoring is the process of matching mentors with young people who need or want a caring, responsible adult in their lives. Adult mentors are usually unrelated to the child or teen and work as volunteers through a community-, school-, or church-based social service program. The goal of youth mentoring programs is to improve the well-being of the child by providing a role model that can support the child academically, socially and/or personally. This goal can be accomplished through school work, communication, and/or activities. Goals and settings within a mentoring program vary by country because of cultural values.
Women's History Month is an annual observance to highlight the contributions of women to events in history and contemporary society. Celebrated during March in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia, corresponding with International Women's Day on March 8, it is observed during October in Canada, corresponding with the celebration of Persons Day on October 18.
Skrappy's is a youth-run, youth-oriented performing arts and after-school center as well as an all ages music venue, performance space and community hub located in downtown Tucson, Arizona. Starting off as a place for house shows for youth and by youth, it is billed as a drug-free, positive environment that encourages expression and youth culture. Skrappy's specializes in live music, music and art classes, visual art, printing, photography, writing, publishing, activism, organizing, civic engagement and empowerment, and as an open drop in - providing food, clothing and other services.
The Milton S. Eisenhower Foundation is a non-governmental organization in the United States, established in 1981 to continue the work of two Presidential Commissions. These commissions were the bipartisan National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders, and the bipartisan National Commission on the Causes and Prevention of Violence. The Eisenhower Foundation carries forward the objectives and initiatives of these commissions in the private sector.
100 Black Men of America is a men's civic organization and service club that works in the field of education and empowerment of African-American children and teens. As of 2009, the organization has 110 chapters and more than 10,000 members in different cities in the United States and throughout the world. The members are predominantly African-American professionals, businessmen, civic leaders and administrators, educators, and other occupations.
MENTOR was founded to expand opportunity for young people by building a youth mentoring field and movement in the United States. Since its founding, there has been a more than 10x increase in young people in structured mentoring relationships, from hundreds of thousands to millions.
Public/Private Ventures (P/PV) was a nonprofit, nonpartisan, social research and policy organization; it disbanded on July 31, 2012. Its mission was to improve the effectiveness of policies, programs and community initiatives, especially as they affect vulnerable communities. The organization developed new models and performed evaluations of existing initiatives; it also assisted programs seeking to replicate and expand.
The Fletcher Street Riding Club is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization devoted to inner-city horsemanship in north Philadelphia. Part of a century-long tradition of black cowboys and horsemanship in Philadelphia, local horsemen maintain and care for horses and teach neighborhood youth to do so. They encourage academic excellence and provide positive ways for local youth to spend their leisure time outdoors. The nonprofit organization has struggled to find funding and secure and maintain their place of operations.
The American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization which advocates for the legal rights of people with disabilities.
Youth Volunteer Corps,(YVC), is a non-profit service organization operating throughout the United States and Canada that was created to introduce, encourage, and support the spirit of volunteerism in youth ages 11 to 18 through consistent, well-organized volunteer opportunities. It began in 1987 as a single organization in Kansas City, Missouri, sponsored by the Heart of America United Way and was funded by numerous public and private sources.
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northern Nevada is a non-profit organization whose vision is "that all children achieve success in life." Their mission is "to provide children facing adversity with strong and enduring, professionally supported 1-to-1 relationships that change their lives for the better, forever."
The Harold Grinspoon Foundation (HGF) is a private foundation established in 1993 and located in Agawam, Massachusetts. It is a 501(c)(3)nonprofit organization charitable organization with the goal of "enhancing Jewish and community life in Western Massachusetts, North America, Israel, and beyond."
Divine Bradley is a social imagineer, business coach, youth mentor, motivational speaker, community leader, serial social entrepreneur who founded a youth-led non-profit organization at age 17 in New York City that led to the opening of several community centers with the purpose of providing students recreational activities as well as mentoring programs to promote financial responsibility and community leadership.