Television producers have included dialogue on mentoring in 10 prime-time network series, including Caroline in the City, Family Matters, and Just Shoot Me. Producers of NBC's number one-rated series, ER, have recently introduced an ongoing story line in which a lead character, Dr. Carter, serves as a mentor to an urban teenager.

Later this month, the campaign's first full-page newspaper advertisements will begin appearing in The New York Times and other leading publications in donated space. The ads utilize a "cross out" device in the headline (e.g., UNDER ACHIEVER) and the tagline "Mentoring Changes Everything" to raise awareness of mentoring as a means of effecting positive change. The ads were created for the Harvard Mentoring Project by the Boston-based agency Hill, Holliday on a pro bono basis.

The Belief that 'I Can'

None of the campaign's television or print ads carry the Harvard name. "We made a decision to help strengthen nonprofit groups in the mentoring field by inviting them to sponsor the ads at no cost," Winsten said. The ads carry the toll-free number of The Alliance for Youth (1-888-55-YOUTH), as well as the Website of the National Mentoring Partnership (www.mentoring.org). Other national nonprofit partners in the campaign include Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, The Partnership for a Drug-Free America, The Points of Light Foundation, and Save the Children.

Winsten also reported that the Harvard Mentoring Project was instrumental in planning a White House event with First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton to recognize the contributions of the media and nonprofits to the mentoring movement. This event, held last February, underscored the growing prominence of mentoring on the public and policy agendas.

Explaining the rationale for the campaign, Winsten cited research documenting that mentoring is an effective strategy for preventing several key problems that young people face. "Mentoring provides a young person with information, opportunities, nurturance, and support. By successfully navigating a relationship with a mentor, a young person develops a shared sense of caring, respect, trust, and consequently, the belief that 'I can.' This positive attitude, or self-efficacy, makes a fundamental difference when it is applied to specific goals, such as school or career, or to the young person's emotional development."

In its next phase, the Harvard Mentoring Project will focus on recruiting businesses, faith-based organizations, and civic groups to organize and sponsor projects in which their employees or members serve as mentors to young people. In one such project, the New York office of Home Box Office has "adopted" the Frederick Douglas Academy in Harlem. Sixty executives and staff members serve as mentors, meeting regularly with their mentees at the corporate offices.