I had just concluded 40 days of prayer and fasting before this trip and I sensed in my spirit that a directional change was coming to my ministry. Suddenly, when the tires hit the tarmac it was as if a download of information came rushing to me. Jolted, surprised and almost overwhelmed, I reached for anything I could find to write down the flood of thoughts flowing into my spirit.

The initial word spoken to my spirit was, “Build a movement to resurrect authentic manhood. Do so by speaking to the deep purposes that reside within man and he will cast off those things that restrain him.”

As I wrote, more and more clarity came to me. I asked, “What are the deep purposes of man?” I immediately remembered Proverbs 20:5, “The purposes of a man’s heart are deep waters, but one who has insight draws them out.”

Instantly, the foundational principles of Fivestarman flowed out of my spirit and I realized that man has five distinct purposes that reside deep within him:

1. Man is an Adventurous Spirit;
2. He is gifted with an Entrepreneurial Drive;
3. He desires to be Gallant in Relationships;
4. Man longs to be Faithful in Character;
5. And he is driven to leave a legacy through Philanthropic Cause.

(Later study also revealed that the word for “man” in Proverbs 20:5 is not the common word “Adam” but “iysh.” Iysh means, masculine man, cultivator, virile, strong, manly-mind, gallant, priest, leader, and champion.)

Once the plane arrived at the gate, I had to switch my focus back to the consulting assignment for the next 24 hours. Amazingly, when I boarded the plane the next day the flow of inspiration immediately returned, giving me insight and strategy as to how Fivestarman was to develop.

When the plane landed in Houston, I stayed onboard while the flight attendants prepared to continue to our next destination in New Orleans. I was busy typing an outline for Fivestarman on my laptop when the flight attendants approached me. As they attempted to make small talk with me, I tried to keep my focus. Finally, I realized that I couldn’t shake them and gave them my full attention. One young lady said, “What are you working on?”

“I am writing an outline to a book.” I answered, hoping that would suffice.

“What is the book about?” she continued.

Realizing they were genuinely interested, I answered, “I am writing a book about a Fivestarman.” As I shared with them the five purposes of authentic manhood and finished by describing gallant relationships, I realized the young lady had drawn in a little too close to my comfort zone. As I leaned back away from her, I noticed tears dripping off her cheek. She desperately asked, “How do I find a man like that?”

It seemed as if she was speaking for young women everywhere, even for my own daughters. I suddenly felt the cry of our culture. A vulnerable culture, one that is missing the strength and protection that comes from authentic manhood.

“Stand at attention while I prepare you for your work…
You’re a one-man defense system against this culture.” Jeremiah 1:18-19

The echo of the original word that came to me was not to build a personal ministry but to build a movement. A movement is a series of organized activities working toward a stated goal. It requires much more activity than one person can achieve.

Over the next few weeks as I began to speak on the five passions of authentic manhood I noticed something very interesting in the posture of men. Initially, men were leaning back in their chairs with folded arms and half-sleepy eyes. As I began to share in-depth what makes a Fivestarman, they began to sit up straight. By the time I finished, those same men were leaning forward, hands on their knees, eyes focused, staring straight ahead, as if in a stance of readiness.

Solomon said, “The purposes of a man are drawn out.” I now recognize the progress of this drawing-out-process each time I speak on the five passions of authentic manhood and the process is simple:


Fivestarman is not about placing a shackle of guilt on a man, nor are we trying to make a man something that he is not, we are simply identifying who he already is and revealing it to him, giving him clear understanding to his God-given purposes.

And men are responding to this. Men can wrap their heads around this. Men want to know more. They want to be involved in this process.

This is a total change in the paradigm of communicating to men!

According to a recent study only 10 percent of churches have a viable, active and productive men’s ministry.

Most efforts toward men’s ministries are weak, anemic, and girly. We even see this with publishing companies who have all but given up trying to communicate to men. These companies excuse their failed efforts to the preposition that men do not read. I totally disagree! Men will read, but we do not read like women read. The problem is the publishing companies and most ministries have attempted to communicate to men’s feelings. That’s fine for women.

Women relate face-to-face sharing feelings.

But men relate shoulder-to-shoulder facing challenges.

Other efforts toward men’s ministry center around an angry anti-pornography strategy. This reactive strategy starts when a pastor or leader is forced to deal with some of their “good” guys facing the addictive powers of pornography. Pornography is a scourge on manhood, but it is actually a result—not the cause—of a fallen relationship with God.

We must dig deeper. We must draw from the original intent of manhood.

We don’t need another attempt at men’s ministry. We need a movement. A movement that is organic. A movement that raises the voice of authentic manhood. A movement that speaks to men who have been completely turned off by the terms “Bible Study” or “Men’s Breakfast.” We must become more strategic and communicate to the internal, God-deposit that lies within men, that spark of authentic purpose that the Spirit draws out (1 Corinthians 2:9).

We’re not going to win men by making them something that they’re not. We can’t communicate to men on the emotive level. We must communicate to men’s purposes. When a man focuses on his purposes he casts off those things that constrain him.

When you are in training physically, you change your habits, you get up earlier, work out harder and suppress or change your appetite. You know that some of your cravings are bad for you. The same goes for your spirit. When you focus on godly training, just like physical training, you will focus on growth and suppress those things that hinder your progress.

Rather than guilt men into the Church, rather than manipulate him by focusing on his wife and children, we must focus on the purposes of men, draw upon them, communicate to him in an authentic manner.

As Malachi warned in the last sentence of the Old Testament before the 400 years of silence:

 “See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers; or else I will come and strike the land with a curse.”

We must have a prophetic voice speak to the heart of men. We must raise the voice of authentic manhood. Now is the time for Fivestarman!

Five Godly Ways to Be a Good Dad

Mark Driscoll of Mars Hill Church states,

“One of the greatest joys in my life is being a dad to my kids. Over the years, I’ve learned many lessons about being a dad, but one of the most important is that in order to be a good dad, you must be a good Christian.”

“By being a good Christian, you develop a relationship with your heavenly Father, the perfect Dad, that informs everything you do as a dad. And by cultivating a deep understanding of the Scriptures, you grow in wisdom, grace, and ability to raise your kids well and to the glory of God.”

Here are some practical ways to love your kids like God, our Father, loves us:

1. Delight in your kids before discipline.
2. Protect your kids by fearing God.
3. Be a man for your kids and live righteously.
4. Work hard for your kids.
5. Create a legacy for your kids.

Mark goes into detail on each of his five points, so click here to read the full article.

The righteous who walks in his integrity—
blessed are his children after him! -Proverbs 20:7

PHILANTHROPIC

Pro Golfer K.J. Choi Believes in Giving Back

Golf is how K.J. Choi makes his money. Donations are how he likes to spend a lot of it.

“I believe in sharing,” says Choi, a pro golfer from South Korea who gave away over $300,000 that he earned on this year’s PGA Tour. “A lot of people make money but we all live in a society where we need to share.”

He has pledged $200,000 of the $1.71 million that he won at last month’s Players Championship in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida to victims of the deadly tornadoes that recently struck the American South.

He’s known around the clubhouse for showing his appreciation. “He thanks everybody. He thanks the golf course superintendent, the tournament host but he also thanks God,” says Hack. “He’s not afraid to talk about his beliefs.”

Choi has a reputation for being a devout Christian. He and his family are members of the Dallas Korean United Methodist Church in Texas.

“The Lord has been good to me and he has provided a lot for me so this is my way to return of all the things that he has given to me,” he says.

Read the full article on CNN here.

GALLANT

Kids Need to Roughhouse with Dad

Alert reader Tyler Pettis points us to a great article that clearly shows that fathers roughhousing with their young children is crucially important in the early development of kids.

“Rough and tumble play between fathers and their young children is part of their development, shaping their children’s brain so that their children develop the ability to manage emotions and thinking and physical action altogether,” said Fletcher. “This is a key developmental stage for children in that preschool area between the ages of about two and a half and five. That’s when children learn to put all those things together.”

Researchers believe that the most important aspect of this play is that it gives children a sense of achievement when they ‘defeat’ a more powerful adult, building their self-confidence and concentration. However, fathers who resist their children, can also teach them the life lesson that, in life, you don’t always win. The act of a stronger adult holding back that strength also helps to build trust between father and child.

Read the full article here.

Once again, authentic manhood stands at odds with modern culture’s politically-correct coddling of issues that are really quite clear.

I was appalled when I heard a reverse-collared, liberal cleric stumble with the idea that Usama Bin Laden was evil. He said, “Well, his acts were evil but only God can judge his heart.” I saw people commenting on Facebook and Twitter claiming they could not rejoice in the death of anyone – not even UBL. Incredible!

When David went out to fight against Goliath, a ruthless killer, he faced him with a sling and a stone. An interesting fact is that David prophesied that he would decapitate Goliath’s head from his body. After David knocked the giant warrior down, he picked up the giant’s sword and fulfilled his promise. When the Philistine army saw David lift up his head they turned in fear and ran from the battlefield. When the Israeli army saw the head, they were encouraged and ran into the battle. David then returned to Jerusalem to add the head of the giant to his collection of trophies. (1 Kings 17)

Three primary reasons for the execution of a righteous kill:

1. We rid the earth of a man who is bent on evil.
2. We put fear in the hearts of others bent on evil.
3. We encourage those who are on the side of righteous.

We must raise our sons with a sense that righteousness can triumph over evil. The idea that we should show sympathy for the death of an evil man is completely naïve and embarrassingly feminine.

When the righteous prosper, the city rejoices;
when the wicked perish, there are shouts of joy.
Proverbs 11:10

By the way, UBL claimed a religion that incites the violent murder of anyone outside of its faith and believed he would be rewarded for his efforts to do so. Well, we have delivered him to his reward. May he face the True God and be judged according to his deeds.

And yes, lest there be any doubt, Usama Bin Laden was evil.

He who is not everyday conquering some fear
has not learned the secret of life.
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

Doing The Unthinkable

On October 13, 2007, after nearly 17 grueling hours, Scott Rigsby did the unthinkable: he crossed the finish line at the 140.6-mile Ironman World Championship. Why was it unthinkable? Scott is a double-amputee. He has no legs.

Scott Rigsby’s “Do the Unthinkable” program is a dramatic presentation that engages the audience to embrace their own dreams, fears and challenges in comparison to the highs and lows of Scott’s life journey. With great passion, humor and drama, Rigsby shares his intimate thoughts and feelings of conquering the odds that ultimately defined his life and purpose.

Read Scott’s story here…

Beating the Fear of Failure

Author Terry Bragg runs a company called Peacemakers Training in Salt Lake City, Utah. He believes that fear of failure is one of the greatest fears people have.

Fear of failure is closely related to fear of criticism and fear of rejection. Successful people overcome their fear of failure. Fear incapacitates unsuccessful people.

The Law of Feedback states: there is no failure; there is only feedback. Consider this:

• Successful people look at mistakes as outcomes or results, not as failure.
• Unsuccessful people look at mistakes as permanent and personal.

Buckminster Fuller wrote, “Whatever humans have learned had to be learned as a consequence only of trial and error experience. Humans have learned only through mistakes.”

Most people self-limit themselves. Most people do not achieve a fraction of what they are capable of achieving because they are afraid to try—because they are afraid they will fail.

Take these steps to overcome your fear of failure and move yourself forward to getting the result you desire:

Step One: Take action.

Bold, decisive action. Do something scary. Fear of failure immobilizes you. To overcome this fear, you must act. When you act, act boldly.

Action gives you the power to change the circumstances or the situation. You must overcome the inertia by doing something. Dr. Robert Schuller asks, “What would you do if you knew you could not fail?” What could you achieve? Be brave and just do it. If it doesn’t work out the way you want, then do something else. But DO SOMETHING NOW.

Step Two: Persist.

Successful people just don’t give up. They keep trying different approaches to achieving their outcomes until they finally get the results they want. Unsuccessful people try one thing that doesn’t work and then give up. Often people give up when they are on the threshold of succeeding.

Step Three: Don’t take failure personally.

Failure is about behavior, outcomes, and results. Failure is not a personality characteristic. Although what you do may not give you the result you wanted, it doesn’t mean you are a failure. Because you made a mistake, doesn’t mean that you are a failure.

Step Four: Do things differently.

If what you are doing isn’t working, do something else. There is an old saying, “if you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you always got.” If you’re not getting the results you want, then you must do something different. Most people stop doing anything at all, and this guarantees they won’t be successful.

Step Five: Don’t be so hard on yourself.

Hey, if nothing else, you know what doesn’t work. Failure is a judgement or evaluation of behavior. Look at failure as an event or a happening, not as a person.

Step Six: Treat the experience as an opportunity to learn.

Think of failure as a learning experience. What did you learn from the experience that will help you in the future? How can you use the experience to improve yourself or your situation? Ask yourself these questions:

• What was the mistake?
• Why did it happen?
• How could it have been prevented?
• How can I do better next time?

Then use what you learned from the experience to do things differently so you get different results next time. Learn from the experience or ignore it.

Step Seven: Look for possible opportunities that result from the experience.

Napoleon Hill, author of Think and Grow Rich, says “every adversity, every failure and every heartache carries with it the seed of an equivalent or a greater benefit.” Look for the opportunity and the benefit.

Step Eight: Fail forward fast.

Tom Peters, the management guru, says that in today’s business world, companies must fail forward fast. What he means is that the way we learn is by making mistakes. So if we want to learn at a faster pace, we must make mistakes at a faster pace. The key is that you must learn from the mistakes so you make so you don’t repeat them.

Although we all make mistakes, fear of failure doesn’t have to cripple you. As self-help author Susan Jeffers says, “feel the fear and do it anyway.”

The fear of human opinion disables;
trusting in God protects you from that.
Proverbs 29:25 MSG

Related Stories

• Drew Brees: Coming Back Stronger
• Allowing Setbacks to Spur You On
• Turning Obstacles Into Adventures

The argument against man begins with population control, which is in direct opposition to God’s original intent.

The second argument is closely related, suggesting that man is the cause of “global warming,” or now, since pseudo-science fraudulently “cooked the books” (pun intended), the proposed argument is “global disruption.”

The claim that man is destroying the Earth is another attempt to control the increase of man economically.  The claims that we are using up the resources of Earth are simply out of step with the evidence.

God’s original intent for man was to dominate the Earth, which means we are to steward and care for the Earth.  I believe that we must properly manage our cultivation of the Earth.  We should develop and manage our resources with wisdom and responsibility; however, we must continue to draw upon those resources for our use and for the expansion of mankind.  The resources of Earth are placed on deposit for our use and increase.

God is wise enough to create the world in which we live with more than enough to sustain, and even prosper, mankind throughout our existence.

Next:  Work Is an Original Intent of Man

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This article is an excerpt from the book Fivestarman—The Five Passions of Authentic Manhood by Neil Kennedy.  To learn more about Fivestarman or to order your copy of Fivestarman—The Five Passions of Authentic Manhood please visit www.fivestarman.com.

You are free and welcome to re-publish, re-post, and in general share this article with any and all, so long as you keep all credits and links intact. For reprint rights, please contact us at info@fivestarman.com.

Washington (CNN) – Trevor Bayne may have won the Daytona 500 on Sunday, but a small charity he name-dropped will share in the spoils of victory.

The 20-year-old NASCAR driver was racing in just his second Sprint Cup competition and is now etched in the record books as the youngest driver to win the sports’ biggest race.

“I never thought in a million years we were gonna win our first one,” Bayne told CNN Monday morning. “It’s incredible.”

During his post-race news conference, Bayne was asked how he would spend some of the $1,463,813 purse he won from the race.

“I don’t know if I will splurge. I am definitely not putting it up for retirement yet, I am going to stay around for awhile,” Bayne said.

“Hopefully this money will help us get some more races, and there are a lot of foundations and ministries that need support. Back2Back ministries in Mexico is one, and there are a lot of good organizations that need some help, and we will help them out as much as we can.”

In a sport that has ads plastered over nearly every inch of the drivers and their cars, it was a big deal for Bayne to namedrop the Christian charity.

Trevor Bayne visits with an orphan on a trip to Mexico in November.

Back2Back is an independent Christian charity working with orphans and the needy in Mexico, Nigeria and India. Bayne was introduced to the charity by Lonnie Clouse, a former chaplain for NASCAR with Motor Racing Outreach, who is now on staff with Back2Back.

“I assure you it was nothing short of miraculous.  Trever called me yesterday from the media center after the win with tears in his eyes and we prayed together over the phone,” Clouse said by phone from Monterrey, Mexico.

“This was part of God’s script and God’s plan for him.  He’s using his platform to talk about those with no voice and [about] orphan awareness.”

Motor Racing Outreach (MRO) provides weekend church services and Bible studies for NASCAR drivers and their teams who can’t get away from the track on race weekends. Clouse was MRO’s traveling chaplain for the NASCAR Nationwide series.

“Bayne was a faithful attendee at all our Nationwide Bible studies.  He would sit in the front row.  He would get up and read scripture or open in prayer, whatever we needed,” Clouse said.

Bayne traveled to Mexico to work with Clouse in November. “He was down here in Mexico staying with us and serving along side us helping with orphans,” Clouse said.

“We went and visited orphanages. He made quite an impression here. He was out playing soccer with the orphans.  We huddled them all around, and Trevor got to talk to them about what he did.  They were asking him how fast he went.  Most of them had no clue who he was and what he did,” Clouse said.

Bayne visits with an orphan on a trip to Mexico in November.

After the race Clouse gathered the orphans together and filled them in on Bayne’s big win. “It was exciting for them to hear how well he did.”

Clouse was ordained in a non-denominational church. MRO pulls chaplains from many different denominations. Clouse said Bayne is member of a church near his home but gets most of his spiritual nourishment on the road from MRO.

For the former chaplain, all those Bible studies at the race track paid off when Bayne was in the winners circle.

“He summed up the two greatest commandments, ‘Love the lord your God with all your heart’ and ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’  He got up on that stage and he was able to articulate those things beautifully.  It was a very very proud moment for me and for MRO.”

On a plane bound for O’Hare International Airport, Elsie Clark felt weak, scared and utterly alone — until she spotted a pair of shiny leather shoes across the aisle.

What happened to the 79-year-old Canadian over the next 12 hours — she was embraced by a good Samaritan, escorted through O’Hare in a wheelchair and welcomed to a swanky high-rise for a dinner overlooking Lake Michigan — saved her from a traumatic stranding in Chicago.

It also proved that, even in tough times, people can surprise each other with acts of kindness.

On Dec. 30, which she described as one of the worst days of her life, Clark was on her way back to Winnipeg, Manitoba, after spending Christmas with her family in Texas when she missed her flight out of Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport after an airport employee left her sitting for hours at the wrong terminal.

Clark, who has a bad hip and has to use a wheelchair when traveling, was finally put on another plane with a connection in Chicago, only to be delayed by bad weather.

“I was so thirsty and hungry,” said Clark, who lives on a fixed income. “I felt absolutely deserted and I was scared because I kept thinking, ‘What is going to happen in Chicago if I miss my plane?’ I would have to sit on the hard airport bench all night.”

But as Clark looked down, trying to hold back tears, she noticed the polished shoes of a man sitting nearby.

“I wanted to talk to somebody to get my mind off things for a little while,” said Clark. Growing up poor, she said, her mother taught her that people who dressed well respected themselves and other people. “So, I said, ‘Sir, do you mind telling me what you do because I’ve always admired shiny shoes.’ ”

Dean Germeyer and wife, Nina

Dean Germeyer, 43, who runs a technology consulting group in Chicago, did not mind at all.

“People were coming by and putting their hands on her shoulders and saying, ‘I hope you get home tonight,’ ” said Germeyer, who was scheduled to leave Texas later but snagged an earlier flight at the last moment.

“She was doing OK, but you could tell she was at a breaking point,” he said.

Although Clark didn’t ask for Germeyer’s help, their passing pleasantries turned into a longer conversation. Germeyer soon began making arrangements with a flight attendant to have a wheelchair ready when the plane landed so Clark could catch her next flight.

“There was a connection between Elsie and myself,” Germeyer said, adding that during the flight he learned that Clark had raised four daughters by herself, helping to put them all through school while working as a waitress. “She wasn’t asking for anything at all.”

Upon landing, Germeyer rushed Clark to her next terminal, but Clark still missed her flight. That meant she would spend the night in Chicago, so the airline, United, offered her a stay at a nearby hotel at a discounted rate, in keeping with the company’s bad-weather policy, spokeswoman Robin Urbanski said.

But Germeyer said he did not feel right leaving her.

“She is somebody’s grandmother,” Germeyer said. “And to slide this piece of paper across the desk and say, ‘Here is your voucher, good luck,’ when she hasn’t eaten, doesn’t have her luggage and doesn’t know Chicago … that really aggravated me.”

So Germeyer called his wife, Nina, who had dinner waiting at their Streeterville condo, and asked her to arrange an extra place setting.

“This is why I married Dean,” said Nina Germeyer, 41. “He couldn’t know that this little old lady was going to just sit at the airport all night while he went home and had a nice meal and a warm bed.”

But Germeyer did not stop there. After taking Clark to his condo, on the 55th floor of a building just off of Michigan Avenue, he took her on a brief city tour before putting her up in a suite at the Affinia Hotel next to his building.

Then he arranged for a car to take her back to the airport the next day.

“He even gave me a new toothbrush and toothpaste,” Clark said. “I just sat down when I got to the hotel and I cried and cried and cried. Everything he did for me was just so beautiful.”

Random acts of kindness are witnessed every day — dropping money in a homeless person’s hand, offering directions or giving up a bus seat. But Tom W. Smith, who studies altruistic behavior at the University of Chicago’s National Opinion Research Center, said that such sustained displays of altruism are far less common.

“This is unusual both in the amount of assistance he offered and the complexity of what he did,” Smith said.

When Clark arrived home in Canada the next morning, she began to think of ways to repay Germeyer’s generosity. In the end, she decided the best way was to tell her story, and she started with the local newspaper.

Germeyer said Tuesday he is amazed by the e-mails flooding into his inbox, many from Canadians thanking him. He said he had spent less than $250 on the hotel room and car. “I just wanted to make sure that she got some sleep that night.”

2011 Boren Mentoring Honoree and 2010 National Big Brother of the Year

“I can do that by myself!” was my familiar exclamation when I was growing up. I always believed that asking for and getting help was a sign of weakness. I didn’t know how wrong I was. I have learned over the course of my life that being pig-headed about not seeking help made whatever task I have faced harder.

Of course, it is understandable that I would insist that I did not need anyone’s help because, as a child, I had an abundance of help. I grew up with several mentors including my older brother, my uncle and my teachers. Because they were there for me, I was confident that I was capable of doing things myself even when I wasn’t really doing them alone. Although I didn’t fully appreciate it at the time, they were there all along, providing me the support and encouragement I needed.

More than nine years ago, I was matched with 7-year-old Victor Ornelas as his mentor in Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Tulsa. Victor had no adult male role models in his life. He was growing up in a neighborhood rife with poverty and violence. He had just been diagnosed with a learning disability and had been held back in school. His future did not look bright.

Once I got to know Victor, I quickly discovered that he was quite intelligent and capable of succeeding. My task as a mentor was to help him recognize and nurture those talents that were there all along.

Over the past nine years, his transformation has been remarkable. Victor has graduated first in his elementary school class, been admitted to highly competitive middle school and high school programs, been recruited by Duke University and has taken high school courses one year ahead of the normal curriculum.

As a 10th-grader, Victor is enrolled in Algebra II, Chemistry and the International Baccalaureate program. Despite his reading disability, he has read such challenging books as “Catch 22” and “Catcher in the Rye.” Regardless of what challenges he faces, I have encouraged Victor that he can do anything if he applies himself – and he has.

Victor now plans to be the first in his family to attend and graduate from college. Although many of his peers have taken to gangs, dropped out of school and fathered children out of wedlock, Victor has focused on working hard in school and being a loving son to his mother. When we began our relationship, Victor was painfully shy. Today he is outgoing and confident. He even relishes public speaking.

Mentoring matters; and I’ve seen its transformative power in Victor’s life. When I was a kid and declared “I can do that by myself,” I was just displaying immaturity. In reality, I did not do it by myself; and being a mentor means a child will not have to either. It takes no special qualifications to be mentor: just being there and caring. To learn more about mentoring opportunities in your community, log on to www.okmentors.org or call (405) 410-1523.

About The Author

University of Tulsa Professor Arthur Rasher will be honored Jan. 25 as the recipient of the Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence’s 2011 David and Molly Boren Mentoring Award, which recognizes an outstanding Oklahoma mentor. In 2010, Rasher was named National Big Brother of the Year by Big Brothers/Big Sisters of America.

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Additional Resources

• January is National Mentoring Month.
• MENTOR
  For more than a decade, MENTOR has been leading the effort to connect America’s young people with caring adult mentors. MENTOR is an advocate for the expansion of mentoring and a resource for mentors and mentoring initiatives nationwide.
• America’s Promise—The Alliance For Youth
  The mission of America’s Promise is to mobilize people from all walks of life to build the character and competence of our nation’s youth by fulfilling five promises: ongoing relationships with caring adults, safe places with structured activities, a healthy start, marketable skills, and opportunities to give back.
• Big Brothers Big Sisters of America
  Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) works closely with parents to match every child with the right Big Brother or Big Sister. Each potential mentor is screened, trained, and supervised to ensure that the relationship will be safe and rewarding for everyone involved. Today, BBBS serves hundreds of thousands of children in 5,000 communities across the country.