Celebrate National Mentoring Month 2026
Each January, we come together as a community to ignite these passions and help turn these wildest dreams into reality with National Mentoring Month. By harnessing our collective voice, MENTOR advocates for supportive relationships for young people, mentoring as a legislative priority, and raises awareness around how mentorship can change a young person’s life.
Join us for exciting opportunities throughout the month to grow the movement, celebrate the power of meaningful mentoring relationships, and appreciate mentors for all they do!
Get involved by exploring the resources below.
Learn More About National Mentoring Month!
Get Involved this National Mentoring Month
Why Mentoring? Youth With a Mentor Are:
92%
more likely to volunteer regularly in their communities.
75%
more likely to have held a leadership position in a club or sports team.
22%
more likely to have experienced a strong sense of belonging while growing up.
74%
of those who had a meaningful mentor say that person contributed significantly to their success later in life.
85%
of young people with a mentor say this key relationship has helped them with issues related to school and their education.
58%
of young people say their mentor has supported their mental health.
60%
of those under 40 years old are still drawing advice from their childhood mentors.
NATIONAL MENTORING MONTH TOOLKITS
For mentors and organizations looking to engage elected leaders. Use this toolkit to contact officials, advocate for funding, request proclamations, and more.
For public officials who want to support youth mentoring. Use this toolkit to build partnerships, promote dialogue, show gratitude, and more.
For businesses and community partners interested in youth well-being. Use this toolkit to create partnerships, spark dialogue, recognize involvement, and more.
For anyone promoting National Mentoring Month online. Use this toolkit to craft strong messages, customize graphics and videos, build your own toolkit, and more.
For organizations ready to share their mentoring impact publicly. Use this toolkit to write press releases, pitch stories and op-eds, secure local airtime, and more.
NATIONAL MENTORING MONTH IMPORTANT DATES & EVENTS
Mark your calendars and celebrate on social media with the entire country! Download these graphics and more here.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service
JANUARY 19
FEBRUARY 4
Explore the latest edition of the Elements of Effective Practice for Mentoring Programs™!
Engage on Social Media
Use the hashtag #MentoringMonth throughout January.
Movement Makers:
A report on the state of the youth mentoring workforce
MENTOR conducted a first-of-its-kind survey focused on the experiences and career paths of the nation’s mentoring professionals, with over 1000 program leaders and front-line staff taking part. Read the report now!
NATIONAL MENTORING SUMMIT
Convened by MENTOR, the Summit is an opportunity for mentoring practitioners, researchers, philanthropic investors, youth leaders, government and civic leaders, and Affiliates from across the country to unite under the shared goal of driving positive change for young people.
Take the pledge!
This pledge is a commitment we can all take to show up and put the work into our mentoring relationships, so we can all reap the full benefits of these vital connections.