Thank Your Mentor Day
Quincy Jones, General Colin Powell, and Usher lead national campaign to recruit volunteer mentors for at-risk youth.
BOSTON, MA, January 17, 2008-On Thursday, January 24, Americans across the country will participate in Thank Your Mentor Day™ by reaching out to thank or honor those individuals who encouraged and guided them, and who had a lasting impact on their lives.
Thank Your Mentor Day™ is a highlight of the 7th Annual National Mentoring Month, a campaign held each January to recruit volunteer mentors to help young people achieve their full potential. Lead spokespersons for this year's campaign are General Colin Powell, Grammy Award-winning R&B recording artist Usher, and music icon Quincy Jones.
Other top celebrities supporting the effort include Maya Angelou, Tom Brokaw, Deepak Chopra, Senator Hillary Clinton, Walter Cronkite, Antwone Fisher, Gwen Ifill, Larry King, Senator John McCain, Edward James Olmos, Cal Ripken, Jr., Bill Russell, Tim Russert, Martin Sheen, and Mike Wallace.
These celebrities have shared their recollections about important mentors in their lives through video interviews and commentaries which are posted on the campaign's Web site, www.whomentoredyou.org.
Thank Your Mentor Day™ promotes Four Ways to Honor Your Mentor: 1) contact your mentor directly to express your appreciation; 2) "pass it on" by becoming a mentor to a young person in your community; 3) make a financial contribution to a local mentoring program; and, 4) write a tribute to your mentor for posting on the campaign's Web site.
National Mentoring Month is spearheaded by the Harvard Mentoring Project of the Harvard School of Public Health, MENTOR/National Mentoring Partnership, and the Corporation for National and Community Service. Sponsors include MetLife Foundation, The Curtis L. Carlson Family Foundation, and The MCJ Foundation. Media partners include: ABC, CBS, Fox, and NBC; Comcast; National Association of Broadcasters; Time Warner; and Viacom.
Participants in the National Mentoring Month campaign include leading nonprofit organizations and numerous governors and mayors. In communities across the country, designated nonprofit and governmental agencies are responsible for coordinating local campaign activities, including media outreach and volunteer recruitment. These local lead partners include state and local affiliates of MENTOR/National Mentoring Partnership, Corporation for National and Community Service, Points of Light Foundation and Volunteer Center National Network, America's Promise Alliance, Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, Communities in Schools, and United Way of America.
More information about Thank Your Mentor Day™ is available at www.whomentoredyou.org.
Information about volunteering as a mentor is available at www.mentoring.org.
Thank Your Mentor Day™ is a trademarked initiative of the Harvard School of Public Health.
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