January is National Mentoring Month, an annual nationwide campaign dedicated to celebrating and elevating the mentoring movement. Across the country, day in and day out, many people devote their time, energy and expertise to ensure that future generations of Americans are better prepared to lead their communities and become valuable contributors to the economy. Mentoring also remains an important part of workplace culture, as younger workers look to learn the ropes from more experienced employees.

In addition, mentoring can provide a great opportunity to deliver a rewarding and potentially life-changing experience for the mentor. It is one of the most important things a person can do to enhance their career and professional life. But it takes time and commitment.

Many of us have experienced, in some form or other, a successful mentoring relationship. While the purpose of mentoring may seem obvious, the benefits can be numerous, in school and in the workplace.

For young people, mentoring provides someone who cares about them and can help them to deal with day-to-day challenges.

One out of every three young people, outside of their family at home, don’t have a trusted adult who they believe they can turn to for advice and guidance. Of those young people, nine million face a variety of day-to-day challenges that put them at-risk for falling off track.

Organizations such as MENTOR and Encore.org‘s Generation to Generation, offer multiple opportunities for helping the next generation. The latter focuses on mobilizing retirees in fields such as science and technology to help young people get a foothold in the labor market.

For more information on Generation to Generation and Encore, click here.