Mentoring is a structured, one-to-one relationship or partnership that focuses on the needs of the mentored participant; fosters caring and supportive relationships; and encourages individuals to develop to their fullest potential. A mentor is a positive adult role model who provides access to people, places, and things outside a mentees's customary environment.  

By caring adults, we refer to a broad range of ongoing relationships between adults and youth that provide care, support, or guidance.  These relationships are seen in a variety of experiences with both parents and non-parent adults, from coaches and teachers to youth organization leaders and neighbors. Mentor relationships have proven to positively affect mentees in the following ways: decrease drug use, increase school attendance, promote non-violent behavior, develop trust in others, raise goals and expectations, improve grades, and increase the numbers of children and youth who attend college.

"How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world."

--Anne Frank

By safe places and structured activities, we mean sites that provide a safe environment where young people can learn and grow through enriching and engaging activities. Safe places and stuctured activities refer to community settings that provide both physical safety and a chance to develop. These settings include school-age child care programs, youth development programs, lifeline safe havens, community centers and other programs that provide a positive out-of-school environment. 

School-age children spend 1,000 hours per year in school compared to 4,000 waking hours out of school. Nationally, 60% of 6-12th grade youth spend two or more hours a day at home without an adult present. After-school programs provide youth with an opportunity to build on what they learn in school, develop new interests, and spend time with peers and caring adults. Lifeline safe havens provide a safe environment for at-risk use. Safe places also support the other fundamental resources by providing an opportunity for a mentoring relationship, a place to learn marketable skills or a chance to perform community service.

By a healthy start, we mean balanced nutrition and practices that foster good health as well as access to health care that meets acceptable national norms, including prenatal care for expectant mothers. Nurturing through a healthy start encompasses reliable and affordable health care. This includes immunization, regular check-ups, treatment of illness and quality health education. Health insurance through Medicaid should help parents provide their children with these health care necessities.

According to a report of the National Governor's Association (July 1995), "Compared with children with health care coverage, uninsured children are less likely to receive early preventive health care services such as routine childhood immunizations and are more likely to require treatment in an emergency room after a health care problem has worsened."

By effective education for marketable skills, we mean abilities associated with clearly definable and readily accessible jobs that pay a livable wage.  Marketable skills can be learned through in-school and after-school internships and experiences. Marketable skills include, among other things: a foundation in basic math, English (reading and writing), science, technology, communications, and problem-solving. 

A School-to-Work system helps students gain these skills and make them relevant to the students' lives by connecting classroom lessons with the community and workplace. Marketable skills give students the level of skill and knowledge necessary for a successful transition into college and/or a career. In today's global economy, young people are competing for jobs with workers from Japan, Europe, and other industrialized regions of the world where sophisticated school-to-work activities are incorporated into the educational system.

"One is not born into this world to do everything, but to do something."

--Henry David Thoreau

By opportunities to serve, we refer to situations for young people to be active participants in initiatives that address the pressing needs in our country/city.

Meaningful service opportunities call on young people to bring their gifts, energy, and talents to the task of strengthening their communities in a variety of ways, such as tutoring others, addressing environmental issues through research, advocacy, and clean-up, or working to ease the burdens of the hungry or homeless.