PRESS RELEASE - 1000 Women For Mentoring Launched With Nation’s Leading Women

at the International Spy Museum

February 3, 2012

WASHINGTON, D.C. – As part of the 2012 National Mentoring Summit, hundreds of guests arrived at the International Spy Museum Tuesday night to witness the launch of a new effort to build the youth mentoring movement and to hear the words of extraordinary women.

Kicking off the evening, Kerry Sullivan, president of the Bank of America Charitable Foundation, talked about the importance of this initiative: “Mentoring provides valuable opportunities for young people to develop and advance toward long-term workforce success. Bank of America is proud to be the Founding Sponsor of 1000 Women for Mentoring. This initiative provides a platform that allows each member’s voice to be heard with the goal of rallying women leaders across the country, and ultimately, reaching more youth with quality mentoring.”

One of 1000 Women for Mentoring’s founding members, Alma Powell, chairman of America’s Promise Alliance, shared her excitement for the new mentoring effort, which aims to build a network of women leaders across the country dedicated to enhancing youth mentoring.
“I believe that we are called to remember that our success as women in leadership owes a debt to countless others who came before, who built a foundation for us, and yes, who mentored us and showed us the way,” said Powell. “Some may ask how much change one thousand people — even one thousand determined women — can bring. I would answer that it’s not just about us. It’s also about tens of thousands of others who will join this effort… and the efforts of so many thousands more who already are engaged in the vital work of mentoring.”

Matilda Cuomo, founder of Mentoring USA, former first lady of New York, author and founding member of 1000 Women for Mentoring, also spoke at the Summit event, sharing stories from her new book, The Person Who Changed My Life: Prominent People Recall their Mentors, which emphasizes the importance of mentoring the nation’s youth.  It features poignant mentoring stories from Tim Russert, Diane Sawyer, Mayors Michael Bloomberg and  Corey Booker, Senator John McCain, Alice Waters, Nora Ephron and countless other luminaries who would not be where they are today without their mentors.

“Mentoring is one of the best investments we can make in our future generation,” said Cuomo. “We must concentrate on mentoring children in need ― not just during National Mentoring Month, but every month and every day of the year.”  On Friday, January 27, Cuomo appeared on ABC’s The View to discuss January’s National Mentoring Month and the importance of mentoring the nation’s youth.  Link to the following to see the special edition of The View in honor of mentoring:  See here.

“MENTOR is honored to introduce 1000 Women for Mentoring and the potential it has to inspire, influence and invest in quality mentoring opportunities across the nation,” said David Shapiro, CEO of MENTOR, the host organization for the Summit.

1000 Women for Mentoring was co-founded by:  Gina Aldisert, Barbara Canter, Marian Heard and Gail Manza.  Founding members include: Beverly Bond; Maria Cuomo Cole; Matilda Cuomo; the Honorable Mary Landrieu; Debra Lee; the Honorable Betty McCollum; Fukiko Ogisu; Alma Powell; Dr. Jean Rhodes; Addie Richburg; Kerry Sullivan; Susan Taylor and the Honorable Frederica Wilson. 

The 2012 National Mentoring Summit was held January 24 and 25 at The Fairmont in Washington, D.C.  The Summit’s Presenting Sponsor was Viacom.  Bank of America and BNY Mellon were Supporting Sponsors for the events.

To learn more about 1000 Women for Mentoring, visit http://1000wm.org.

For more information on the 2012 National Mentoring Summit please log onto www.mentoring.org.