January is national mentoring month, and Big Brothers Big Sisters of San Luis Obispo is celebrating 15 years of the mentoring movement by expanding quality mentoring opportunities to connect more of our community’s young people with caring adults.
January marked the agency’s first match through “Bigs in Blue,” a nationwide initiative that connects youth with individuals in the law enforcement and public safety fields. “Bigs in Blue” creates one-to-one mentoring relationships that positively impact the children in our program. Strong, trusting, and lasting relationships are built in return between law enforcement and the families they serve in their community.
“By working to give each person a better chance at success, we can unlock their potential and empower them to serve others in the same way,” President Obama said to call upon businesses and community leaders to observe this month with activities and programs.
Important dates for this public awareness campaign are:
- January 12, 2017: “I Am a Mentor Day,” a day for volunteer mentors to celebrate their role and reflect on the ways mentees have enhanced their world and share their stories about being a mentor on social media using #MentorIRL.
- January 19, 2017: “Thank Your Mentor Day,” a day for all who have real life mentoring experiences to thank those who helped them on their path to adulthood and beyond when we encourage anyone who has had a mentor to say thank you by sending a note, a card or sharing a story on social media using #MentorIRL.
A recent national report called The Mentoring Effect found that young people who were at risk but had a mentor were 55 percent more likely to go to college than those without a mentor. They were also 81 percent more likely to report participating regularly in sports or extracurricular activities, 78 percent more likely to volunteer regularly in their communities, and twice as likely to say they held a leadership position in a club or sports team.
For more information on volunteering or contributing to Big Brothers Big Sisters, call 805-781-3226 or visit SLOBigs.org.