National Mentoring Month

“A mentor is someone who allows you to see the hope inside yourself.”
– Oprah Winfrey

At the latest city council meeting, Mayor Lumumba proclaimed January as National Mentorship Month. To honor this proclamation and shine a light on the awesome work done throughout our city, six organizations were recognized for their excellent work in mentorship.

And Operation Shoestring is grateful to be one of them.

Mentorship is a critical component to social and emotional development in many afterschool programs. In fact, an article on research-based practices in afterschool states, “Youth who develop a sustained trust-based relationship with a caring non-parental adult demonstrate improvements in social, emotional, and behavioral domains.”

In addition to fostering relationships with our kids, our approach to mentorship includes using our network of over 75 community partners and 500 volunteers to supply outstanding experiences. These experiences result in exposure for our kids to a myriad of opportunities to learn more about themselves and the world around them.

For instance, the Ambassadors, a leadership development program for high schoolers, is the product of a collaborative effort between Operation Shoestring, Jackson Public Schools, and ChildFund International. Using our knowledge, resources, and relationships we develop a robust program for kids from all seven high schools across the school district.

Impactful mentorship stems from a mutually beneficial relationship between mentee and mentor where both are open to learning from one another. And what is learned from these relationships helps positively shape the future. We commend Mayor Lumumba for spotlighting organizations which work to develop mentoring relationships and provide safe spaces where kids are able to grow and thrive.