The Value of a Mentor

No one sets out to fail.  But there are countless stories about youth and adults who fell through the cracks of society, got in over their heads, or went down a wrong path. Many of those stories can be traced back to poor decisions, a lack of preparation, or unwise advice. And some might have been avoided if they had been mentored.

We all need direction -- someone to guide, encourage, and hold us accountable. A mentor is someone willing to invest time in another person's future well being.  A role model committed to another individual's success.

Think back. Who invested time in your life and what difference did it make? Can you remember a teacher who went beyond his or her job description to prepare you for college? Or perhaps it was a coach who prepared you to compete with champions. Oftentimes, it's a parent or relative who is also serving as your mentor. But all of the time, it's some caring individual who has volunteered time and resources on our behalf.

So much of our day-to-day support is directly related to having good mentors. Here's a sample list of areas of support presented by The National Mentoring Partnership:

Support for education

• Mentors help keep students in school.
• Students who meet regularly with their mentors are 52% less likely than their peers to skip a day of school and 37% less likely to skip a class.
• Mentors help with homework and can improve their mentees’ academic skills.

Support with day-to-day living

• Mentors help improve a young person's self-esteem.
• Youth who meet regularly with their mentors are 46% less likely than their peers to start using illegal drugs and 27% less likely to start drinking.
• About 40% of a teenager's waking hours are spent without companionship or supervision. Mentors provide teens with a valuable place to spend free time.
• Mentors teach young people how to relate well to all kinds of people and help them strengthen communication skills.

Support in the workplace

• Mentors help young people set career goals and start taking steps to realize them.
• Mentors can use their personal contacts to help young people meet industry professionals, find internships and locate job possibilities.
• Mentors introduce young people to professional resources and organizations they may not know.
• Mentors can help their mentees learn how to seek and keep jobs.

As stated above, there's a myriad of ways mentoring can help people. The important thing is to find a mentor and/or be a mentor to someone else. In honor of this month being National Mentoring Month, make that decision today.


*http://www.mentoring.org/about_mentor/value_of_mentoring