January is National Mentoring Month!

There are a million different things that shape a person’s life. The places we live, the schools we go to, even genetics, determined months before we are even born. But the most important factor in determining what a life will be like is the people in that life. Parents, brothers, sisters, friends. Every child needs someone to look out for them. Children who have more role models and more people looking out for them, have a better chance to do well in life. That is the idea behind mentoring. A mentor gives his or her mentee another advocate in life, a valuable asset that is extremely powerful.

The Milton Community Youth Coalition (MCYC) recently launched a program called Milton Mentors! designed to build assets for the youth in our community who most need an extra push to be successful. So why mentoring? Mentoring is a proven way to build self esteem, academic success, and ability to resist drugs and alcohol. Kids with mentors develop better life and career skills. They feel like adults in the community care about them, and like they are important. There are benefits for the mentor, as well. Being a mentor is a chance to give back to the community, and to experience the rewards of making a difference in a child’s life, of developing a relationship and a bond with that child

January is National Mentoring Month. It is a month for celebrating those in our community who have taken the step to give a child an amazing gift. It is also the perfect time to become a new mentor. To find out more about National Mentoring Month, visit http://www.nationalmentoringmonth.org/. To learn how you can become a mentor in your community, visit the Milton Mentors! website at http://miltonyouth.org/miltonmentors/.

Someone was that person for you.

Now be that person for someone else.

Milton Mentors: Building Bridges.

Updated on January 14, 2012