Home > START A PROGRAM > Evaluation > 2005 National Poll >

2005 National Poll

Mentoring in America 2005: A Snapshot of the Current State of Mentoring

In 2005, MENTOR commissioned a new poll on mentoring to measure our progress in closing the mentoring gap. Mentoring in America 2005: A Snapshot of the Current State of Mentoring reports on the findings of that poll, focusing on the attitudes and behaviors of three key groups of American adults: formal mentors, informal mentors and non-mentors. Using the characteristics of each group, the report identifies and discusses changes in the mentoring field over the last three years.

Key findings from the poll include:

The number of young people involved in structured one-to-one mentoring relationships has increased nearly 20 percent, from 2.5 to 3 million;
44 million adults are willing to serve as mentors;
96 percent of existing mentors would recommend mentoring to others;
While the average mentoring relationship lasts nine months, 38 percent last at least one year; and
The majority of mentors are willing to work with youth in unique or difficult situations, including children whose parents are incarcerated, youth with disabilities and immigrant youth.

Combined with the findings of other recent and upcoming polls included Volunteers Mentoring Youth: Implications for Closing the Mentoring Gap, these results will lead us to important strategies and solutions for closing the mentoring gap.

2005 National Poll

Mentoring in America 2005: A Snapshot of the Current State of Mentoring

Related topics