Mentoring Advocate Joe Mauer: American Hero

The Bleacher Report has published an article titled, “Why Joe Mauer, Not Derek Jeter, Should be America’s Most Popular Player.”  That alone is enough to make any Minnesotan’s chest swell with pride.  The article goes on to explain that part of what makes the uber-talented hometown hero so great is his commitment to the community – particularly his advocacy for the Mentoring Partnership of Minnesota.  Read more here.

“Fall in Love with Mentoring” Event to be Hosted by Minnapolis CARES

The Minneapolis CARES Mentoring Movement invites you to Fall in Love with Mentoring!  Come to the atrium of the IDS tower in downtown Minneapolis on Friday, February 12 for live music followed by Minneapolis CARES mentoring information tables. Invite your friends to do the same!

*Downtown Business Competition!*
The business that sends the most employees to visit the CARES tables will *win* a $300 pizza lunch.

Minneapolis CARES is a proud member of the National CARES Mentoring Movement, an initiative to recruit more African-American adults to mentor youth in their communities. The local steering committee is made up of the Mentoring Partnership of Minnesota, MAD DADS, Bolder Options, Kinship of Greater Minneapolis, Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Greater Twin Cities, and the City of Minneapolis. For more information, contact minneapoliscares@gmail.com, or visit www.caresmentoring.com/minneapoliscares.

“Fall in Love with Mentoring” is sponsored by General Mills, The Minneapolis Foundation, and Greater Twin Cities United Way.

The White House Gives Boost to National Mentoring Efforts

The following is a press release that was issued by the White House on January 20; the event can be watched at http://www.whitehouse.gov/photos-and-video/video/celebrating-national-mentoring-month.

Washington, DC (Jan. 20, 2010) – The President and First Lady Michelle Obama will give a tremendous boost today to the national movement to recruit volunteer mentors to help transform the lives of America’s youth. Mentors and their mentees from across the country will join the President and Mrs. Obama at a White House event to highlight the value of mentoring and mark the 9th Annual National Mentoring Month. The President’s remarks will be streamed live at www.whitehouse.gov/live starting at 4:05 pm EST.

Led by Harvard School of Public Health, MENTOR, and the Corporation for National and Community Service, National Mentoring Month is a national initiative that is working to focus attention on the need for mentors with the message that, “If we – individuals, businesses, government agencies, schools, faith communities and nonprofits – can work together to increase the number of mentors, we assure brighter futures for our young people.” This year’s campaign features General Colin Powell in a public service announcement, and leverages the work of fifty local partners across the country as well as corporations to mobilize more Americans to serve as mentors.

Dr. Jay A. Winsten, an associate dean at the Harvard School of Health, commented, “Youth mentoring is a highly effective public health intervention. Research has shown that programs that rely on volunteer mentors can play a powerful role in reducing drug abuse and youth violence, while greatly enhancing a young person’s prospects for leading a healthy and productive life.”

Federal support for mentoring as a tool to increase young people’s prospects for leading a healthy and productive life has increased over the years, and taken center stage under the Obama administration. The Corporation recently launched Serve.gov/mentor to help Americans find opportunities to mentor and chairs the Federal Mentoring Council, an interagency working group that coordinates federal efforts to support mentoring programs.

“MENTOR is thrilled with the President and First Lady’s commitment to mentoring. There are currently three million children who are engaged in a quality mentoring program in this country and fourteen million more children who want and need a mentor. The President and First Lady’s dedication to this movement will help close this gap and provide hope and inspiration for mentees and mentors alike,” said Larry Wright, PhD, President and CEO of MENTOR.

The Corporation, the federal agency that leads domestic service initiatives, supports numerous mentoring programs that help alleviate youth gang activity, reduce the dropout rate and send thousands of young people to college each year. Participants in the Corporation’s Senior Corps, AmeriCorps and Learn and Serve America programs mentored more than 89,000 children of prisoners, 94,000 youth from disadvantaged circumstances, and 248,000 children and youth with special or exceptional needs, in fiscal 2009.

“Our nation’s success depends on helping every child succeed and reach their full potential in life,” said Nicola Goren, the Corporation’s Acting CEO. “Mentoring strengthens our nation’s economic and social well-being by influencing the life choices of young people with the help of a caring adult.”

On January 21, Americans across the country will honor their mentor by participating in the seventh annual “Thank Your Mentor Day.” The day calls on people to thank those who encouraged and guided them, and who had a lasting impact on their lives. Tributes to mentors will be posted on WhoMentoredYou.org.

For more information on National Mentoring Month and the importance of mentoring, visit Serve.gov/mentor and Mentoring.org.

###

For more information, please contact one of the following organizations:

Harvard: Susan Moses, 617-432-1038; smoses@hsph.harvard.edu
MENTOR: Ellen Christman, 703-224-2255; echristman@mentoring.org
Corporation for National and Community Service: Ashley Etienne, 202.606.6944; aetienne@cns.gov

Kids ‘n Kinship Wins Touchstone Energy Community Award

Kids ‘n Kinship of Apple Valley was recently named the local 2009 Touchstone Energy Community Award Winner by the Dakota Electric Association.  The award is given to organizations for outstanding contributions to the community, and winners receive $500, a plaque, and consideration for the statewide award.  Read more…

Annexstad Foundation Awards College Scholarships to Mentees

The Annexstad Family Foundation has a scholarship program for eligible high school seniors who have ever been mentees in participating Big Brothers Big Sisters programs. MPM Executive Youth Board member David Moreno was awarded the scholarship and is now a freshman at the University of Minnesota.

The Annexstad Foundation was established by Al and Cathy Annexstad and their family.  The foundation is committed to mentoring because they have experienced it power firsthand and understand its impact.  Thus, they have committed themselves to “working together with participating colleges and universities to provide scholarships principally to deserving young people who have matured through the Big Brothers Big Sisters program.” Visit the foundation’s website to learn more at http://annexstadfamilyfoundation.org/

Obama and Pawlenty Issue Proclamations for National Mentoring Month

There are a lot of people working to support youth through National Mentoring Month, including such prominent government officials as President Barack Obama and Governor Tim Pawlenty.  Both the White House and the State of Minnesota have issued proclamations declaring that January 2010 is National Mentoring Month.  Go to MPM’s National Mentoring Month webpage to download the proclamations as well as a proclamation template to submit to your local government.

Obama Honors STEM Educators and Mentors

At an awards ceremony at the White House on January 6, President Obama honored STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) educators and mentors as part of the “Educate to Innovate” campaign. Watch the event here.

Minneapolis CARES Mentoring Movement Highlighted in Star Tribune

The Minneapolis CARES launch event last month drew a large crowd, and now it’s drawn the attention of the Star Tribune and its readers. The CARES initiative in Minneapolis will host eight parties in the coming year to recruit mentors, especially those in the African-American community.  Read more…

Fox 9 Features Twin Cities Mentoring

Fox 9 News is presenting a half-hour special on mentoring tomorrow morning, December 19th at 8:30am. The special is called Community Connection: Mentoring. Anchor Robyne Robinson will give viewers several reasons to mentor by showcasing two Twin Cities mentor-mentee matches, as well as the Minneapolis CARES initiative. The National CARES Mentoring Movement’s purpose is to inspire more African-American adults to mentor the youth in their communities. Read more…

Glamour Magazine Salutes Mentoring

Glamour Magazine’s “31 Days of Giving” says you can make the world a bit better on December 2nd by becoming a mentor! Visit MPM’s Find a Program page to search for a mentoring opportunity that interests you.

Glamour also honored its Woman of the Year, Michelle Obama, with a Special Recognition award for her dedication to mentoring young women. Read more about the “Mentor in Chief” from Glamour editor Cindi Leive here.