OJJDP News @ a Glance - January/February 2007

Mentor Recruitment Targets Faith- and

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Community-Based Collaborations

January Is National Mentoring Month

Research shows that youth who participate in mentoring relationships experience a number of positive benefits, including better attendance and attitude toward school, less drug and alcohol use, improved social attitudes and relationships, more trusting relationships and better communication with parents, and a better chance of going on to higher education.

January is National Mentoring Month, and this year's campaign goal is to recruit volunteer mentors to work with young people from underprivileged backgrounds to help them reach their full potential. The Harvard School of Public Health honors music pioneer Quincy Jones as the first-ever "Mentor of the Year."

For further information about National Mentoring Month, visit www.hsph.harvard.edu/chc/wmy2007
/nmm/intro.htm.

OJJDP, in partnership with the National Network of Youth Ministries and the Corporation for National and Community Service, is hosting two national training events—February 26–28 in Los Angeles, CA and April 11–13 in Nashville, TN—to assist mentoring programs in finding and recruiting new members, particularly through community- and faith-based collaborations.

The "Mobilizing New Mentors…Through Faith- and Community-Based Collaborations" training initiative is in its second year. Several hundred participants are expected at each of the 2007 events, which offer information on how to find new mentors, work with faith-based organizations, run an effective volunteer program, and develop a faith-based mentoring program.

Featured speakers at the Los Angeles event include Alison Fritz, Director of Faith- and Community-Based Initiatives, Corporation for National and Community Service; Dr. Susan Weinberger, President, Mentor Consulting Group; Reverend Dr. W. Wilson Goode, Sr., Director, Amachi Program; and Lynn Ziegenfuss, Mentor Project Director, National Network of Youth Ministries. Nashville speakers include J. Robert Flores, Administrator, OJJDP; Dr. Weinberger and Ms. Ziegenfuss; and Bill Milliken, Founder and Vice Chairman, Communities in Schools.

The registration deadlines are February 16, 2007, for the Los Angeles session and March 30, 2007, for the Nashville session.

For additional information, visit www.mentoryouth.com/training or call 1–877–500–MENTOR.