Proclaiming the first National Mentoring Month in January 2002, President George W. Bush said:

National Mentoring Month allows us to recognize the important contributions made by the millions of our fellow citizens who choose to strengthen our nation by giving their time, effort, and heart to serve as a mentor and role model for a young person.

In January 2003, National Mentoring Month blossomed into a collaborative, public-private initiative led by the Harvard Mentoring Project and MENTOR/National Mentoring Partnership. The initiative is supported by the White House, Congress, the U.S. Departments of Justice and Education, governors and mayors across the country, and a wide array of nonprofit organizations, media companies, and individuals.

The goals of the National Mentoring Month initiative are to raise public awareness and recruit both individuals and organizations. The initiative seeks to show how individuals, businesses, government agencies, schools, faith communities, and nonprofit organizations can work together to increase the number of mentors and ensure a brighter future for the nation’s youth.

The theme for National Mentoring Month 2003 was “Who mentored you? Thank them . . . and pass it on!” A major public relations initiative was built around the theme, including the launch of a special Web site (www.whomentoredyou.org) by the Harvard Mentoring Project featuring commentary from prominent people about mentors in their own lives.

Online Resources for Mentoring Big Brothers Big Sisters of America: www.bbbsa.org Boys & Girls Clubs of America: www.bgca.org Harvard Mentoring Project: www.hsph.harvard.edu/chc/mentoring.html Juvenile Mentoring Program (JUMP): www.ojjdp.ncjrs.org/jump/index.html MENTOR/National Mentoring Partnership: www.mentoring.org “Mentoring Matters” satellite videoconference: www.trc.eku.edu/jj/archive.html National Mentoring Center: www.nwrel.org/mentoring

Mentoring: A Proven Delinquency Reduction Strategy

Juvenile mentoring programs are an effective means of providing adult support and positive role models to help at-risk youth overcome the challenges they face. Since 1995, OJJDP’s Juvenile Mentoring Program (JUMP) has supported one-to-one mentoring projects for youth at risk of failing in school, dropping out of school, or becoming involved in delinquency (including gang activity and substance abuse). Over the years, JUMP projects have provided mentoring services to thousands of youth.¹

OJJDP also created and supports the National Mentoring Center, which offers training, technical assistance, and other resources for mentoring projects throughout the country. In early February 2003, an OJJDP-sponsored satellite videoconference, "Mentoring Matters," highlighted the importance of mentoring as an effective approach to delinquency prevention; examined mentoring in community, faith-based, school, and work settings; and shared strategies for effective mentor recruitment.