Michigan Mentoring Month celebrates impact of mentoring

Governor Rick Snyder proclaimed January 2015 as Michigan Mentoring Month. This annual effort highlights the importance and impact of mentoring in communities across the state and is held in conjunction with National Mentoring Month. This year's theme is "Mentoring Works!" and is designed to celebrate the everyday, ordinary people who are making a difference for kids in Michigan. Mentors don't need special skills-all they need to do is care about kids and volunteer about an hour a week. "Young people who participate in mentoring relationships experience long-term benefits related to increased educational opportunities, career preparation and community engagement," said Amber Troupe, Mentor Michigan director. "Mentors play a key role in opening the doors in a young adult's mind to the life choices one must make in order to be a successful, autonomous, and contributing citizen." Mentor Michigan is the lead agency for Michigan mentoring activities and is an initiative of the Michigan Community Service Commission (MCSC), the state's lead agency on service and volunteerism. In addition to spotlighting the impact of mentoring, Michigan Mentoring Month also draws awareness to the important need for mentors in the state. Though more than 17,000 mentors currently serve 23,000 Michigan youth, the number of youth waiting to obtain a mentor is in the thousands. "Mentoring takes as little as an hour a week, but that hour is immeasurable in terms of the impact it will have on a young child," said Ginna Holmes, executive director of MCSC. "Mentored students are more likely to increase their grades, enroll in college, and participate in extracurricular activities." Holmes, along with directors of mentoring programs around Michigan, will be traveling to the National Mentoring Summit later this month to explore and advance mentoring's positive impact on individuals and communities and bring back new ideas for the state. For information about how to support a young person through mentoring, visit the Mentor Michigan website at http://www.michigan.gov/mentormichigan. Published: Wed, Jan 21, 2015