WASHINGTON, Feb. 14, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The 2025 National Mentoring Summit convened by the national nonprofit MENTOR concluded over the final days of January with over 1,300 attendees representing 48 states and territories and six countries represented.
300 mentoring advocates including MENTOR Affiliates from across the county held 200 meetings with Congressional offices as part of the annual Capitol Hill Day program led by MENTOR. The advocates spoke with members of Congress and their staff about the realities facing the mentoring movement, both positive and challenging. Mentoring provides long-lasting, positive impacts that help young people stay in school and expand workforce opportunities. But the movement is also facing challenges, including access to fewer community-based volunteer mentors, lack of funding and income sources, and the threat of the proposed federal funding freeze.
MENTOR’s Chief Policy and Advocacy Officer Abbie Evans, led a pre-Summit half-day advocacy training on Jan. 28, immediately before attendees went to Capitol Hill. The annual National Mentoring Summit, is the nation’s largest convening of mentoring advocates, and closes out National Mentoring Month.
“Each year, Capitol Hill Day and the National Mentoring Summit present a unique opportunity for MENTOR to galvanize the mentoring movement. Capitol Hill Day allows MENTOR and hundreds of mentoring advocates to walk the halls of Congress and be the unified voice for young people everywhere, engaging in dialogue with our elected leaders face-to-face on issues impacting our work,” Evans said.
Sen. Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.) and Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) were just two examples of Senators who held meetings with their constituent advocates to discuss wins and challenges facing mentoring programs in their local communities.
“The collective spirit of our many stakeholders from across the country was inspiring. The unity and drive to support mentoring for young people is timely and needed. We have much to build upon as we leave our nation’s capital ever more committed to fueling positive relationships and opportunities for all,” MENTOR CEO Jermaine Myrie said.
As part of MENTOR’s Capitol Hill Day, Memphis Mayor Paul Young and U.S. Senate Minority Whip, Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) were honored as public service honorees as part of this year’s Excellence in Mentoring class.
A Media Snippet accompanying this announcement is available by clicking on this link.
To learn more about the 2026 National Mentoring Summit and Capitol Hill Day please visit www.mentoring.org.
About MENTOR’s Capitol Hill Day: MENTOR’s annual Capitol Hill Day in conjunction with the National Mentoring Summit brings together stakeholders from across the youth mentoring movement, including mentoring program staff, volunteer mentors, funders, researchers and public officials who have seen firsthand the positive impact a caring mentor can have in the life of a young person. MENTOR’s first Capitol Hill Day was held in 2014.
About MENTOR: MENTOR fuels high-quality relationship-centered practices for young people, uniting, expanding, and strengthening the mentoring movement 35 years ago, MENTOR was created to expand opportunities for young people by building a youth mentoring field and movement. The result: a more than 10-fold increase in young people in structured mentoring relationships. Today, MENTOR is the primary resource and expert for the youth mentoring field, representing a movement that meets young people everywhere they are – from schools, to workplaces, and beyond. MENTOR operates in collaboration with 24 local Affiliates across the country.
To learn more about MENTOR, visit our website: www.mentoring.org or find us on social media. Follow on X at @mentornational | Facebook: MENTORnational | Instagram: @mentornmp | LinkedIn: MENTOR
Media Contact:
Kelsey Nelson | Director of Communications
(617) 798-4216 | knelson@mentoring.org
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/730a6e29-5ffd-46ad-b0f9-fee1ced1b544
