Mobius and Supporters to Host National Mentoring Month Celebration at the
Statehouse on January 18
Mobius will celebrate National Mentoring Month by hosting
youth mentees, volunteer mentors, and mentoring supporters for its annual
Mentoring Celebration at the Statehouse on Wednesday, January 18, 2017 from
10 a.m. to 2 p.m. This event, made possible by support from lead event
sponsor Redstone Commercial Group and other business supporters, will
publicly recognize the adult mentors, youth mentees, and mentoring supporters
in attendance, as well as the year-round service of the more than 140
mentoring programs and 2,300 volunteer mentors throughout the state.
This year’s event will feature the reading of a Mentoring Month
proclamation by Governor Phil Scott and recognition of the 2017 Comcast
Vermont Mentor of the Year winner Emily Bellmore. Additionally, the
Celebration will include the reading of a Mentoring Month resolution
sponsored by Representative Sarah Copeland-Hanzas (Orange-2) of the Vermont
House of Representatives, an interactive musical performance by Rajnii Eddins
from the group Bless the Child, and guided statehouse tours for youth mentees
and their mentors.
“I am honored to receive this wonderful award,” said Bellmore, a mentor
for more than nine years through a program formerly coordinated by the Boys
and Girls Club of Burlington. “It means a tremendous amount to me to be
involved with the mentoring movement and with my community. I will honor this
award by continuing my efforts to raise awareness about the greatness of
mentoring, and help educate others about the powerful benefits mentoring has
on both the mentor and mentee.”
“Comcast believes in giving back to the communities where our customers and
employees live and work,” said Michael Parker, Regional Senior Vice
President of Comcast’s Western New England Region, which includes Vermont.
“We’re proud to support and partner with Mobius to recognize some of the
individuals who are truly making a difference in their communities through
mentoring and we congratulate Emily Bellmore for being named Mentor of the
Year.”
The Mentoring Celebration at the Statehouse is a part of Mobius’ annual
Vermont Mentoring Month campaign held each January. Throughout January 2017,
Mobius and mentoring programs around the state are organizing a wide variety
of activities to promote the positive benefits of mentoring, including
volunteer recognition events, mentor pair activities, and benefit dinners at
local restaurants. To learn more about the Mentoring Celebration, and other
local mentoring events, visit
www.mobiusmentors.org/mentoring-events-calendar.
Mobius’ 2017 Vermont Mentoring Month campaign is made possible through the
continued support of Lead Statehouse Event Sponsor Redstone Commercial Group
and Mentor of the Year Award Sponsor Comcast; Vermont Mentoring Month
Sponsors Cabot Creamery Cooperative, Rutland Regional Medical Center, and the
University of Vermont Medical Center; as well as Mentoring Supporter Sponsors
DR Power Tools, Heritage Aviation, Langrock Sperry & Wool, Local Muscle
Movers, New England Federal Credit Union, Union Mutual of Vermont, and
Vermont Gas.
The theme of the 2017 National Mentoring Month campaign is “Mentor In Real
Life,” which encourages mentoring supporters and mentors to talk about the
real-life benefits of mentoring. Nationally, the campaign is spearheaded by
the Harvard School of Public Health, and MENTOR (The National Mentoring
Partnership), with support from the Highland Street Foundation.
About Mentoring: According to the “Mentoring Effect,” a study released in
2014 by MENTOR (The National Mentoring Partnership), one in three youth in
Vermont will enter adulthood without having a formal or informal mentoring
relationship with a caring adult. The results of national studies by MENTOR
and Big Brothers Big Sisters illustrate that a mentor can enhance a young
person’s learning skills and help him or her build resiliency and
pro-social skills. Youth with mentors are less likely to engage in risky
behavior with drugs and alcohol, are more likely to develop positive
relationships with peers and adults, and more likely to pursue college and
other post-secondary opportunities.
About Mobius: Now in its fourth year as Vermont’s Mentoring Partnership,
Mobius supports approximately 140 adult-to-youth mentoring program sites that
serve 2,300 mentor pairs throughout the state. In addition to managing the
Vermont Mentoring Grants, Mobius also offers technical support to program
staff, maintains an online program directory and referral system for
volunteers, manages a quality-based program management database, raises
public awareness of mentoring, and works with programs to lead statewide
mentoring initiatives. For more information about Mobius, and mentoring
programs and initiatives in Vermont, visit www.mobiusmentors.org.
United States