Jim and David attending MPM's Angel of Mentoring Awards

Little Brother David Moreno of Savage, Minn. celebrated his thirteenth birthday today as the personal guest of U.S. President George W. Bush.  We had some of the best seats in the house, said Moreno.  This was the best birthday a kid could have.  Moreno and his Big Brother Jim Diesing of Bloomington, Minn. were guests at Bushs state of the union address Tuesday, January 20 at 8 p.m. (EST). 

Diesing and Morenos visit to the U.S. Capitol marks an exciting highlight of Januarys National Mentoring Month celebration. National Mentoring Month is part of a nationwide initiative to recruit volunteer mentors for young people who are at risk of not achieving their full potential.  Diesing and Moreno have been local advocates of mentoring on behalf of the Mentoring Partnership of Minnesota (MPM) and Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Greater Twin Cities (BBBS).  Earlier this month, Diesing and Moreno were invited to speak to a group of business and political leaders about the importance of youth mentoring at a luncheon hosted by Governor Tim Pawlenty, the Minnesota Business Partnership and the Mentoring Partnership.  Diesings name was submitted to the White House by the Mentoring Partnership. 

As a 2003 recipient of the Mentoring Partnerships Angel of Mentoring Award given to those who embody the best in mentoring, there is no one more deserving of this recognition than Jim, remarks Joellen Gonder-Spacek, executive director of the Mentoring Partnership.  Kathleen Pickering, president and CEO of Greater Twin Cities chapter of BBBS comments, Jim and David are shining examples of the more than 2,600 friendships we serve locally and more than 200,000 Big Brothers Big Sisters of America is serving nationally. 

Jim and David spoke at a luncheon hosted by Gov. Pawlenty encouraging Minnesota businesses to support mentoring

They represent the powerful impact one-to-one friendships can have on both adults and young people.     

Today, too many young people do not receive enough of the guidance and support that mentors can provide.  Communities, like Minnesota, have waiting lists of children seeking to be matched with mentors. Currently, there are 450,000 Minnesota youth who could benefit great from a mentor, yet there are only 36,000 mentors reaching 90,000 kids.

National Mentoring Month is locally organized by the Mentoring Partnership of Minnesota and sponsored by Qwest Communications, 3M, Fairview Health Services, Lifetouch and IBM with media partnerships with KFAN, UPN 29, Clear Channel Outdoor and Next Media.

The Mentoring Partnership of Minnesota advocates for the expansion of mentoring and is a resource for mentors and 350+ Minnesota mentoring programs.  MPM promotes youth mentoring by recruiting and training mentors and providing program management assistance to direct service programs.  The Mentoring Partnership of Minnesota is a local state partner of MENTOR/ National Mentoring Partnership, based out of Washington, D.C. 

A website has been established for individuals interested in finding out more about mentoring.  Please visit www.mentoringworks.org or call toll-free 1-877-343-0300.