Thank Your Mentor Day

As a focus of National Mentoring Month, Thank Your Mentor Day is Thursday, January 21. On this day many people will be reaching out to thank or honor those individuals who encouraged and guide them, and who had a lasting impact on their lives.

The theme for Thank Your Mentor Day is “Who Mentored You?” Thank Them, and pass it on ”Become a Mentor”. The goal is to encourage people to think about individuals in their lives during their formative years family members, teachers, coaches, neighbors, employers, friends” who encouraged them, showed them the ropes, and helped them become who they are today. Then, thank them and encourage others to become mentors.

Most people have someone who helped them somewhere along the line, says Janet Sharma, Executive Director of the Volunteer Center of Bergen County. This is a chance to say ˜thank you” and at the same time take advantage of this national initiative to inspire others to become mentors.

Thank Your Mentor Day promotes Four Ways to Honor Your Mentor :

1) Contact your mentor directly to express your appreciation.
2) Pass it on by becoming a mentor to someone in your community.
3) Make a financial contribution to a local mentoring program, like the Volunteer Center Mentoring Moms and Volunteers in Protective Services Programs.
4) Write a tribute to your mentor for posting on the national mentoring website http://www.whomentoredyou.org/.

The Volunteer Center has been sponsoring mentoring programs for over 30 years, including the Volunteers in Protective Services (VIPS) and Mentoring Moms Programs, and is currently in need of men and women to become volunteer mentors to meet the increasing needs in several areas of the community. There is an especially great need for male mentors and bi-lingual Spanish speaking volunteers of both sexes.

For more information about becoming a mentor, and to find out when the next training sessions will be held, call the Volunteer Center of Bergen County at (201) 489-9454, or visit our website and click on Mentoring Programs.