January is National Mentoring Month
If volunteering is on your list of New Year’s resolutions, consider mentoring a foster child or young adult who has transitioned out of foster care. Mentors can have a profound impact on a child who does not have a consistent adult in their life. According to the National Mentoring Resource Center, mentoring a child in foster care can positively impact their mental health, educational achievement, ability to connect with others, and overall life satisfaction.
I had the pleasure of speaking at the 7th Annual Texas Mentoring Summit in San Antonio earlier this month. While there, I heard stories of lives transformed—all because a volunteer committed to serving a child for just one hour a week.
One of the mentoring organizations that was honored at the summit was THRU Project, an organization that serves young men and women leaving foster care. THRU has seen the outcomes that mentoring has had on the young adults. Youth who have gone through the program are more likely to complete their high school or GED program, enter into higher education or job training, and be employed. They are also much less likely to enter into the criminal justice system or become teenage parents.
If you are interested in becoming a mentor and helping a youth reach their full potential, please click here for a list of more than 60 organizations statewide that work specifically with current and former foster youth.