10 Ways You Can Help

1. Blog about it. (Or tweet or post!) If you are one of those diligent people who maintain a blog, post a picture of you and your mentee and share a success story! Or create a note in Facebook and tag your friends who you think would make great mentors. Or tweet a quick shout out to mentoring!


2. Send an email…to your friends, co-workers, family, church groups, recreational sports teams…anyone!! You can share your stories with them or ask your Human Resources person to notify the entire company about our recruitment events (see below) and if they have questions about your mentoring relationship to come to you!


3. Print out flyers or our past newsletters. Post them around your office, your place of worship, or simply hand them out to your friends. You can find Obama's official proclamation here. Drop by our office if you'd like copies of our brochures!


4. Refer others to our YouTube page: www.youtube.com/user/cadasantabarbara and watch our mentor program videos!


5. Let people know about our recruitment events!! (See below for more details)


6. Check out the official page: nationalmentoringmonth.org


7. Acknowledge the mentors in your life. Head to http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/chc/wmy/Thank_Them/intro.html and publically thank your mentor. You can then refer them to that page, click on the "Read Stories" button and navigate to find your note by their last name. January 21st is National Thank Your Mentor Day.


8. Ask others to support your mentoring relationship. The national average cost of making and supporting a mentoring relationship is about $1,300 a year. That's a little over a $100 a month and about $4 a day. Any little bit helps and it allows us to continue providing services to as many youth as possible.


9. Instead of gifts, ask for donations to the Mentor Program. Have a birthday coming up? Ask your friends and family to donate to our program in your honor.


10. Make your presence known. Does everyone in your life know that you are a mentor? If not, why not let them know now? Post something at your desk that says, "I'm a mentor. Ask me why." Start up conversations in the break room about fun activities you've done with your mentee when you get back from your meetings. Simply put, Spread the Word!!