FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Jan 18, 2012

WASHINGTON D.C.- National youth mentoring organizations, Administration officials, civic leaders, corporate executives and the country's foremost mentoring researchers will join together in Washington next week at the second annual National Mentoring Summit to promote a pathway for ensuring our nation's youth receive quality mentoring and guidance that will enable them to have a promising future.

MENTOR, Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, the Corporation for National and Community Service, the U.S. Department of Justice -- Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, the Harvard School of Public Health, and United Way Worldwide comprise the Host Committee for the Summit, which will be held at The Fairmont in Washington, D.C., January 24 and 25, 2012. In addition to the committee, twenty youth-serving partner organizations are working to support the event.

The theme for this year's Summit is, "Invest in the Future: Mentor a Child." The Summit will include a Corporate Leadership Session, where many of the nation's corporate leaders will discuss examples and strategies for deepening private sector investment and volunteerism directed toward expanding quality youth mentoring. The session is a follow-up to First Lady Michelle Obama's original "Corporate Mentoring Challenge" call to action at the inaugural 2011 Summit.

The Corporate Leadership Session will be moderated by Joshua DuBois, Special Assistant to the President and Executive Director of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. Already, this National Mentoring Month, several corporations were recognized at The White House by the President of the United States with the MLK Drum Majors of Service Awards for their commitment to mentoring. Several more companies will join them in receiving this recognition at the Summit.

The two-day Summit will also bring together approximately 500 key mentoring stakeholders to enhance the quality and impact of the field, chart the mentoring field's future and expand its circle of influence to focus the power of mentoring on measurable outcomes. The conference will offer robust workshops and information sharing, including sessions on: Expanding and Sustaining Mentoring Programs Through Strategic Partnerships; Service and Mentoring; Men in Mentoring; Former Mentees: Building the Next Generation of Mentors; Recruiting Mentors and Donors; and many additional relevant and meaningful workshops to enhance the quality and growth of the mentoring sector.

In addition, the event will provide the culminating moment for the 11th anniversary of National Mentoring Month, which is the national media campaign to raise awareness about mentoring produced by the Harvard School of Public Health, MENTOR and the Corporation for National and Community Service. Thousands of programs in all 50 states participate in National Mentoring Month events.

"More than 20 years ago, MENTOR was created as a catalyst to grow the mentoring movement in the United States, and today, mentoring is a large and vital field with more than 5,000 programs serving three million young people," said MENTOR's Chairman Willem Kooyker. "This National Mentoring Summit will give mentoring stakeholders the opportunity to come together so we can continue our combined effort to invest, through quality mentoring, in the 15 million children who are still waiting for a caring adult in their lives."

Summit participants will include representatives invited from MENTOR's network of affiliated Mentoring Partnerships and from Host Committee and Summit Partner networks, as well as National Mentoring Month local partners.

WHAT:           National Mentoring Summit
                      "Invest in the Future: Mentor a Child"

WHEN:           Tuesday, January 24, 2012
                      11:45 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. Keynote Address
                      Wednesday, January 25, 2012
                      12:15 - 1:30 p.m. Mentor/Mentee Panel

WHERE:         The Fairmont Hotel
                      2401 M Street NW
                      Washington, D.C.

RSVP:            Ellen Christman
                      echristman@mentoring.org
                      703-224-2255

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