i4118 Foundation (NPC) celebrates National Mentoring Month
The importance of having a mentor in life.
This month is National Mentoring Month.
This year, the i4118 Foundation (NPC) aims to build awareness of the value that youth mentorship has on children.
They also want to expand quality mentoring opportunities so that they can connect more young people with caring adults.
Gavin Meyers, the organisation’s CEO, quoted John Crosby: “Mentoring is a brain to pick, an ear to listen, and a push in the right direction.”
Research shows that mentors are important in providing young people with the tools to make positive choices, attend and engage in school, and reduce or avoid negative behaviours. In turn, these young people are:
• 55% more likely to be enrolled in college;
• 81% more likely to report that they regularly participate in sports or extracurricular activities;
• 78% more likely to regularly volunteer in their communities;
• More than twice as likely to hold a leadership position in a club or sports team.
“Yet the same research shows that one in three young people will grow up without a mentor,” said Meyers.
“Mentoring Month is when we encourage engagement from community members interested in being a mentor. This year, we encourage the public to go beyond just digital engagement and become involved in real life.”
Mentoring relationships are at their best when connections are made between a caring adult and a young person who knows someone is there to help guide them through life.
To be a mentor, visit the Become a Mentor page on https://i4118.org and take the first step. For more information, contact Meyers on 011 026 1711 or email info@i4118.org.
More about the foundation
For more than six years, i4118 has mentored children from the age of seven. Many suffered abuse and neglect, while others are from at-risk communities.
The foundation helps them heal while developing skills and friendships that will last them a lifetime.
