Youth Advocate Programs, Inc. joins major, national youth-serving organizations in the third annual National Mentoring Summit to be held at The Mayflower Renaissance Hotel in Washington, D.C., January 24 and 25, 2013. The Summit will bring together more than 650 leading youth-serving organizations, along with government, civic, research, philanthropic and corporate leaders to share innovative program models, examine new research, project future developments in the field and fundamentally ensure that more youth receive quality mentoring throughout America. The theme for this Summit is "Mentoring Works: Inspire. Achieve. Advocate." Bank of America, Viacom, BNY Mellon, State Street and Mustang Partners LLC are among the corporate sponsors of this exciting event.

The Summit will be convened by MENTOR and hosted by the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), the U.S. Department of Justice – Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), the Harvard School of Public Health and United Way Worldwide, along with nearly 20 partner organizations. 

The event also will provide the culminating moment for the 12th anniversary of National Mentoring Month, which is the national media campaign to raise awareness about mentoring produced by the Harvard School of Public Health, MENTOR and CNCS. Thousands of programs in all 50 states participate in National Mentoring Month events.

YAP joins other National Mentoring Summit Supporting Organizations, including 100 Black Men of America, Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, College Success Foundation, Concerned Black Men National, Everybody Wins! USA, Experience Corps/AARP, Home Builders Institute, iMentor, Mentoring USA, U.S. Dream Academy, Youth Advocate Programs and YouthBuild USA.

In addition, Congressional mentoring champions who have signed on to date as Honorary Host Committee members are: Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY); Senator John Kerry (D-MA); Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA); Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT); Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK); Congressman Hansen Clarke (D-MI); Congressman John Conyers (D-MI); Congressman Elijah Cummings (D-MD); Congresswoman Susan Davis (D-CA); Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-CT); Congressman Chaka Fattah (D-PA); Congresswoman Kay Granger (R-TX); Congresswoman Betty McCollum (D-MN); Congressman Adam Schiff (D-CA); Congressman Frank Wolf (R-VA).

"The National Mentoring Summit is a critical event for anyone interested in how to provide the relationships for young people that increasingly are proven to move the needle for young people in reaching their potential. Quality mentoring is a necessity in finding successful pathways to adulthood, and it is something that cannot be left to chance, " said MENTOR's President and Chief Executive Officer David Shapiro. "We are honored that so many across sectors in the mentoring movement will come together and inspire each other with their hard work, collaboration, innovation and dedication to delivering the best support for our young people. With effective infrastructure, growing insights and cross-sector partnerships, we can continue to advocate and enhance quality mentoring opportunities for our young people so they can find success at school, home and the workforce."

Summit participants will include representatives invited from MENTOR's network of affiliated Mentoring Partnerships and from Host Committee and Supporting Organization networks, as well as local National Mentoring Month partners.

For more information, contact MENTOR at summit@mentoring.org.