Thank Your Mentor Day

The Harvard Mentoring Project's NMM initiative, "Thank Your Mentor Day™," is being celebrated Tuesday, January 25. On that day, many Americans thank or honor those individuals who encouraged them, guided them and had a lasting impact on their lives. The theme for "Thank Your Mentor Day™" is "Who mentored you? Thank them…and pass it on!" The idea behind "Who mentored you?" is to help people connect to the importance of mentoring by encouraging them to think about individuals in their lives during their formative years—family members, teachers, coaches, neighbors, employers, friends—who encouraged them, showed them the ropes and helped them become who they are today. Too many young people do not get enough of that kind of support, and the campaign's message aims to help close the gap by motivating potential mentors to volunteer.

"Thank Your Mentor Day™" promotes four ways to honor your mentor:

• Contact your mentor directly to express your appreciation.
• "Pass it on" by becoming a mentor to a young person in your community.
• Write a tribute to your mentor to post on the campaign's Web site, www.WhoMentoredYou.org
• Make a financial contribution to a local mentoring program.

To support Thank Your Mentor Day™, the campaign's Web site, www.WhoMentoredYou.org, features video clips and written essays contributed by prominent individuals from various fields, sharing recollections about important mentors from their childhood and young adult years. Contributors include Tom Brokaw, the late Ray Charles, Deepak Chopra, former President Bill Clinton, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, the late Walter Cronkite, Antwone Fisher, former Senator John Glenn, Darrell Green, Gwen Ifill, Quincy Jones, Larry King, Sen. John McCain, Edward James Olmos, General Colin Powell, Harold Prince, Cal Ripken, Jr., Victoria Rowell, Bill Russell, the late Tim Russert, Martin Sheen, Usher, Mike Wallace and Oprah Winfrey.